As always, my comment pinned to the top, explaining stuff. I made this video to NOT promote art shame. lol If you watch the entire thing I say not to feel that way. And it's more of a....do you feel a sense of shame or pride (extremes one way or another) in regard to art school or being self taught. Or hey, you may feel neither and that's normal too. lol Some of the comments make me sad when I read them because I feel like I sorta explained everything in the video. Maybe my video discussions are too "out there" and I need to make them simpler. lol Bah, nothing worse than feeling like your video confused people instead of helping them. Sorry guys!
LemiaCrescent u shouldn't feel bad lemi . Sorry if my comment was one that made u sad 😔..... on another note ur vids r fine sometimes RUclipsrs make things to simple, unlike ur videos , ur videos r different and actual explain very well 😊
It’s not your fault if someone else fails to understand you, maybe they should rewatch it or perhaps ask instead of making rude comments. I think you explained everything really well, and it actually opened my eyes to things I don’t usually think about. 😁
I understand completely where ur coming from...people can get really antsy about it when they are asked questions about how they became an artist either through an art school or wether or not they were self taught...art is basically someone’s personality and emotions on paper...and no such thing as “self taught” ur basically just teaching ur self virtually...but although you can use both sides of the table to get the improvements you need to help strengthen ur drawings
LemiaCrescent Lol Self taught all the way, though i do feel a sense of pride with it. I agree with you though, there should be no shame in people asking, or offense. O .o Also i never have problems understanding your videos.
Well, I'm programmer, never considered doign anything in the direction of art except some sketches of some stuff. I'm here because i like listen to ppl talk...
Exactly. Both are quite the same and learning to draw in general is super impressive. It takes a shit ton of time and dedication whether you go to art school or don't.
I'm 27 and "self taught" why should anyone feel "ashamed" of that or going to art school??? Art school is all about getting connections for work. you go to Ringling, calarts, ect to put that on a resume so you can work at a bigger company. I didn't go to art school, but I am still a FULL TIME freelance illustrator. Going to college doesn't define your abilities. Drawing a lot daily and studying other's successful works for reasons why they are successful and trying techniques they do in your own work. You need to be 100% dedicated to it if you want to make it your career.
Sad story. My mum says my passion for art is stupid so she won't buy me good art supplies.... And I stopped doing art for a while.... But....I'm back into it now, I suck but I'm getting better. I just need to get back into my arty self again :)
look, the good art stuff, is expensive. if you get pocket money, get it yourself. she probably dosnt want to buy it for you 'cos of the money, you dont need good things to get good at art, literally a pencil and a rubber
7 лет назад+211
It really made me think when you've mentioned what your friend says about nobody being really self-taught. That's a very interesting point of view. I was never ashamed of being self-taught. It's not like I chose to be self-taught either. Art school just wasn't meant to be. If I had the opportunity to go to an art school, I would have. The most important thing is that with or without it, I'm still doing what I love. I wouldn't change anything :)
Being self-taught doesn't really exist, you have to find out some things that you can't figure out on your own, you are gonna take inspiration from other works, and use the style a little.
7 лет назад+11
I think it all depends on what you define as self-taught. To me it always meant that someone is pursuing the knowledge by themselves. They decide what they want to learn, how they want to learn it, at what pace, etc. When you go to art school, the projects you work on and topics you learn about are all prepared for you. You don't have to worry about where to get the knowledge from, you just learn. You also get guidance from a professional. Both have pros and cons, if someone likes one, it doesn't mean that the other one is worse. The best thing is that we all get to chose or have an alternative in case we can't go to an art school (like in my case) :) It kind of reminds me of travel agencies. Sure, you can plan it yourself and hope for the best. It might work, it might not, OR you can get a package at a travel agency, where you have everything set up for you to enjoy the ride! It might not be what you expected or you don't like all the aspects of it, but you are not jumping in blind xD
Self taught and art school really depends on the kind of person u are and u need different jeneral skills for self taught u need to have good searching skills and find and look up things and the ability to browse the internet freely art school u need a better ability to handle criticism and despite being quite good at drawing the possibility of being one of de worst also for self taught u need to be able to get an understanding of how different programs work and finding new techniques
i've never actually though about it this much , I have asked people in the comments before if they went to art school, but I never meant any harm or offence to anyone, I'm just genuinely curious about people's art history , like how they got into art and if they decided to go to school for it or not. If they create a wonderful piece of art and someone asks them if they went to art school and they say yes (or no) does it make the piece look any different , does it make it look better or worse? No , of course not! So in the end it really doesn't matter
I have to agree. Ive only gone to Art class in school public school encore kinda thing, some people would shame my art becuz I never had any special classes. I would say my art is above adverage to what I see from all my classmates, and if I work hard enough Im almost as good as my art teacher, so what I cant understand why that makes me a bad artist or even A bad person. Oh yeah, it doesnt.
I'm in the " no one is self taught camp " on this because you have to look at how people learn and the history of learning art. Even in the renaissance era where people learned under mentors, they only learned what the mentors taught them, then why did michealaglo have vastly different artwork than Domenico Ghirlandaio? Because mentors only show you from their small perspective an artists who want to not be copies have to look around them at different fields of thought- whether you learn from books or a teacher the bias is the same, and you do the same amount of work. So to me the arbitrary distinction is a little pointless. I've had people who have gone to art school and not changed a damn bit, because it's not the school of teachers that are teaching you, it's you, taking the information and deciding what's valid and what's not. So I just fail to see how people are self taught when they are using mountains of other artists work as a baseline. Going to classes for art is totally up to you and what type of learning works best for you. There's no shame in learning from books, or people or videos. But claiming you just got to point and to point b "all on my own" to me discredits those who helped you get there.
I guess that would be true if you consider being self taught as how you described it: achieving everything by their own. My understanding of what a self taught artist is is closer to what Lemia said, one who gathered all the information needed to learn from multiple sources by their own and did not go to art school instead being viven most of the information by a teacher (emphasis in "most"), and I believe there's nothing wrong with that. I feel like your definition is kinda (sorry, english is not my first language and i feel like this sentence sounds kinda weird) harsh? Or like looking down on those who claim to be self taught, presenting them as pretencious. Having said that, I think the term "self taught" refers to having no formal education on the matter. (Sorry again, the auto corrector keeps changing muy words to the closest one un spanish so there might be more than one weird word)
I agree that you should take things you learned from different places, a bit of this and a bit of that and make it your own. Unless you are an alaskan bush person, it just doesn't seem feasible to avoid outside influence. But I think the distinction IS important for kids deciding what they want to do and how they want to go about doing it. Plus, certain companies will only hire people who have gone to school and won't even consider applications of those who are self taught. So while it seems that it's not super important (which I don't think it SHOULD be) it is important to others. :( :(
I agree to a point I’m “self taught “,homeschooled, wasn’t aloud to watch tv until I was 10 and I’m the only person in my family that draws but my mom taught me how to draw stick figures and I’ve always been fascinated with shadows and combined them at a young age i looked at people around me for anatomy until my siblings told me it looked like anime i didn’t know what that was and I hadn’t watched many cartoons yet and I hated Pokémon and still do so i looked at some books and I don’t like that style of art at all but I leaned a little bit from them and now I watch RUclips, Disney and Tim Burton films and though I’m inspired by them i don’t really draw in their style but art is in everything and we are here to express that through our minds to the viewers Ps. I did go to two art classes but I don’t remember anything from them other than the colour wheel witch I already knew but now I got a better understanding of it and they both taught life like art styles and I draw in an 90s animated style Thanks for reading :)
I'd say I'm half self taught. I have a more realistic style that I learned from middle and high school art classes and a more semi-toony semi-realistic style I developed over the years. I use tips from the art classes when drawing people in my style but when I draw animals I don't usually have to use a reference or use tips from school.
Well, actually I think it is possible to be self-taught. If, for example, a person tries to be realistic and is just observing the nature and tries to replicate for example, how the light works etc., and learn how to use it, and gains experience that way and improves...I think you can say that this person is self-taught. And as for technique, one can also experiment on their own with different medias and techniques.
I'm proud of being self taught, and I'm going to college ONLY so I can be a high school teacher, so I can motivate kids who need it. My art teacher constantly put me down, saying I wouldn't make it into art school, so I applied for college in spite of her, got in, and I'm going to be a teacher to replace her. Her negative words motivated me to get into school because she said I can't
I’ve only been asked once if I was self taught and my answer to this question was “I’m RUclipsd taught” lol but it’s the truth, self taught is something I don’t feel comfortable saying because then I feel bad for not giving credit to all those ‘how to’ videos and art books that I learned so much from. From everything I’ve seen people act like being “self taught” is a huge accomplishment and I never understood why
Ocean of Dreams i think people like to see independence as expertise, which is odd, considering how they have probably seen Yotube videos teaching art.
I kinda use RUclips as sort of a guide to learn new things too, if you consider "self-taught" as researching on your own to get better. I kinda get annoyed when people ask me because I went to school for Biology not art, but have been told before college and after that I should have gone to art school. :s I have nothing against those that do go to art school, I just wanted a new skillset (which is why I pursued Biology instead of going to an art school) BUT, most of my professors said Biology can help me become a better artist anyway lol. All my Zoology classes, I was usually the one with the best lab sketchbook. I've also gotten the comment like "I can't believe you're a biology major" whenever I used free time to sketch/doodle. They kinda make it seem like artists shouldn't be into science or vice versa.
Going to an art school and getting a degree or taking an art class is awesome, you love art so much that you committed to it and you want to educate yourself. Self taught artists are amazing too because they take time out of their day to practice all by themselves. Maddd respect! No shame in how you learn how to make art.
I heard he had a teacher who also did a TV show about art. He was a really unhappy fella! LOL Dude, I was totally right! Here you go: While staying in Alaska, Ross was working as a part-time bartender when he discovered a TV show called The Magic of Oil Painting, hosted by German painter Bill Alexander.[5]:17-18 Ross studied with Alexander
Probably a mentor, as in one teacher. But if you have a professional working that closely with you then I"d count that as "art school" over being self taught. lol
I’m an art school graduate and a huge advocate for going to art school if that’s something you want to pursue but I always tell people that art school isn’t what you expect it to be. You can go in thinking “I want to do photography” and come out thinking “wow I actually really enjoyed doing sculpture. I’ll do that instead” I thought I wanted to illustrate children’s books but now I do pop culture conventions and a little bit of merch manufacturing. Art school for me was three years of exposure to other artists and being introduced to new fields I’d never even heard of. It was networking and learning how to grow as an art business. I think more that anything else, when you go to art school you don’t necessarily come out with better practical art skills but you come out with a lot of knowledge and interpersonal skills that you might not have if you’d had to learn on your own. And one other thing, at school I taught at least as much as I learned because I had knowledge from being self taught beforehand that some other people didn’t (I taught myself to do digital art in high school and quite a few people couldn’t wrap their heads around it so I helped them keep up when the lessons were going to fast) It’s all about sharing what you know and being willing to learn from others. Excellent video Lemi 💕
Why is it shameful? The only people who should feel shame are the ones telling people they are not real artists. Create good art and never let anyone tell you anywise.
I am a self taught artist. And honestly, I'm extremely proud of that. I worked for a very long time developing my art style and techniques. But now that I started public schooling again, people found out I'm self taught and tell me I'm lying or that I'm not a true artist because of it.
I am a self taught artist and animator, but I don't feel shameful or proud of it. I put more focus on the quality of my art and animations. Because my focus is on the quality and improvement I make, next year I will be taking a university course in animation. Now they may not be able to teach me things that I don't already know, but what I've found is that just being in an environment with such good aspiring artists accelerates my improvement and learning.
Speaking from the point of view of a total layperson who has never been an artist, I think most people perceive art as _more_ impressive if the artist is self-taught. Like artists might go back and forth on the social politics of who learned what from whom, but an outsider is just gonna be like "Wait you learned to do that without any formal instruction? Holy shit"
Tamar H. I agree, like sure going to an art school is great it does help but I love seeing art from someone who didn’t take any classes and how they formed their own style and became amazing all by themselves. I’m “self taught” and I do love when people ask me how I got where I am.
I am self taught, but I don’t find it impressive. It’s just practice and self-motivation, there isn’t much to it. I don’t really mention it that much, because people might say stuff like “oh you haven’t been to art school, you’re not a real artist.” Or something similar to that. I do have pride that I was one of those lucky enough to have the ability to be self taught, but most people take it the wrong way, or are too supportive. So I just say noting when the subject comes up.
Heheh. I'm 12. I obviously haven't been to art school. I haven't taken any art classes either. I feel like both have their pros and cons. You could become an amazing artist either way! At art school you probably have more a time management skill developed, because due dates at school. But being self taught there's not as much stress (I mean, unless you take commissions, then you have, like, a lot of stress) And, this is all guesswork because I haven't done any of these things. Heheh
I am both. Im 13 and I go to college on Tuesday to do my Art Course and then I have time at home to do my own personal things. It's less stressful and in my comfort zone.
Jesus, this question is a minefield. Firstly, Im a professional artist. Secondly, I'm both self taught *and* went to art school, or didn't, depending on what youre asking. Because its not a simple, straightforward question. So, I went to a liberal arts school. Not an art school (art school is a specific thing - it grants BFAs and MFAs). However, I got a BA in studio art. which is where it starts to get messy. I took about 50 hours of major-specific courses (or art classes) whereas someone going to art school takes probably 100-150 hours. The rest of my education was science, math, english, etc. Thats what a liberal arts degree *is*, essentially. But heres where it gets really messy. What do you think happened in those 50 hours that supersedes the 18 years that came before it? Was I self taught until I wasnt? Are they mutually exclusive, like youre either a virgin or you arent? Am I somehow more self taught than someone much younger, who grew up with youtube tutorials and had access to great books or nice supplies? Its a weird thing. Im not embarrassed or ashamed because I didnt go to art school. Or because I did, depending on your definition. Its just a weird thing because the question always leaves me with a sudden awareness of how the person asking perceives art school. Because without a doubt, theres a benefit to art school. But its not in how it affects your artistic ability. Art school *does not* make you a better artist. And that art school community is warped. Its like a cult, and you all drink the kool aid. None of that is the benefit of art school. The true benefit is the things you learn peripherally to art. Its learning to work when you feel uninspired. Its learning to deal with the most infuriating clients or bosses (by way of professors). Its learning to give criticism, and take it. Its learning time management and deadlines and decision making. Its learning to compromise. Its learning to not get invested, while simultaneously learning to go all in. And thats all stuff you can learn on your own, but art school makes you learn it in a couple years. I think the question makes some artists uncomfortable because of those preconceived notions people have when they ask. If someone asks me, I dont want a yes or no answer to mislead them. Its like being asked where I'm from. In order to tell you the answer, I need to know what youre *really* asking. Because where I was born, where I was raised, where my family lives, and where my accent is from are all different things. Does that make sense? Its a nuanced question that people arent even aware is messy.
Erin I don't agree that art school doesn't improve on your art, you learn stuff from teachers that u didn't know before like shading, how to pick the right colors that attract the eye, character design, etc but that's only knowledge I know from watching lavendertownes videos and how she says she improved after art school so this mostly applies to a digital art major and is only in her experience. I've never actually been to art school so technically I'm self taught for now but I'm too young to go to art school right now but want to go someday
Despicable Penguin you've misunderstood. I said art school doesnt *make* you a better artist. 100%, you can become a better artist at art school. Loads of people do. Likewise, you can not get any better. Loads of people do that, too. Its completely possible to go to all the classes, sit through all the critiques, listen to all the lectures, do all the assignments, and not get any better. Improvement is self-determined. You get better because of you. Art school is just an environment. A weird, insular, competitive environment. An artist who improves while in that environment put in all the same effort and time to improve as an artist who improves while not in art school. There are, hopefully, good teachers who can help you acquire skills faster, but they can't just give you those skills. And you'll have more bad teachers than good, just like any other school. My point is that people thing you go to art school and get better. Like they're contingent. Like it's "it you go to art school, then you will become a better artist". But that's not true. The act of going to art school means you'll study art. It means you'll do assignments. It means you'll learn to give critiques. It means you'll hopefully learn to take them. But any improvement you may or not make there, that's all on you. Your teachers can't make you better, your assignments can't make you better, your degree can't make you better. That's all you. Period. It always just you. No book, or art supply, or video, Or school, or anything will ever *make* you better.
I totally agree that this question is a minefield. Its like if I am self-taught when it comes to drawing anime/manga while I went to an art school for graphic design where I learnt all my skills specifically related to graphic design there, ie computer softwares, designing for an audience, how to get involve in a paid project, etc. My drawing skill is still self taught while my technical skill was taught by art school, how would I define yourself then? Half self taught half taught by art school? Another thing is some art school doesn't 'teach' you. They can be giving you prompts and crits and all those stuff and never teach you a single skill. But you'll still finish your degree with an enormous amount of skills and think that that art school was amazing. This is because they make you to look into things yourself. Its like if you want to make a puppet for a project, the teachers won't teach you that cause they want you yourself to look into how to make a puppet yourself. You will end up doing a whole ton of research, testing and failing another whole ton of times while you learning a lot along the way. Your teacher might suggest you ideas with which color they think looks better, which pose the puppet would show more characteristics, but you're still on your own. Then, would you consider yourself self taught or taught by art school? I think if the ppl asking these sort of question be more specific, everything will be much clearer. if you're asking to know should you go to art school or not, then specify that. if you're asking to know where they learn their skills, then specify that.
I’m a fine art major at a university, but I’m learning 0 new technical skills so I’d consider myself self taught. All my instructors care about are abstract or modern pieces with a lot of shock value. I have learned close to nothing about what I want to do and it is super frustrating. It’s less about being embarassed about doing whatever for me because skill is skill, but rather I don’t think my university deserves the credit of saying they’ve taught me anything valuable to my work.
Yikes. That'd be frustrating as hell, and would piss me off greatly. Please know that not all art programs or schools are like that. Have you thought about transferring to another school?
When I hear self taught I think of the beginning of the renaissance when those artist had to study the human body to an extreme and then had to make new methods of drawing because before in the dark ages they had art but It wasn't so anatomically correct
As someone who is self taught, there is a part of me that feels not ashamed, but worried, and another part that feels grateful. For instance, I'm grateful that I didn't wait until I was an adult to pursue art lessons, because I had this thought that I need a professional to teach me all the tricks. Its been a HECK of a struggle, and i'm still no where near where I want to be in art, but I'm glad I started when I did. I've started my own youtube channel (I swear i'm trying to plug it, but its relevant I swear!) and so many worries come up. Mainly its the criticism other art youtubers go through in their comments or off site, stuff like: "you're doing the same old art! you're not improving!" or recent stuff I've been seeing is the "all these art youtubers are mediocre!" garbage like that. I've mainly started my channel to actually see my growth, but I worry because my work is obviously not to the level of others better artists, its going to be seen as someone desperately trying to become "youtube famous" or some crap like that.
I totally agree! It depends on how much work and time you put into your art. You shouldn't have to feel shame in being self-taught or going to art school. I believe that art can turn out any way depending on the amount of effort goes into it. It's good if you can go to a school because there are more opportunities to make connections and also there are more resources available. If you cannot go to a school (depending on your situation) that's okay. We're in an age of technology and information. It's possible to learn on your own and still have a great outcome. I'm actually in my 1st year of art school and it's quite nice so far. I feel like I'm really building up my work ethic. I hope this is the right choice for me. Have a great day! :)
You’re skill as an artist is directly linked to your work ethic. Period. Regardless of how you learn. I was a high grade student in high and was always busy working on school work, clubs, and volunteering. Now I’m going to college at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) our quarter just started a couple of weeks ago but I’m already able to spend all my time either drawing or studying some aspects. I am not easily motivated when I have free time, I usually default to watching shows or RUclips or playing video games (usually because I was stressed from being so busy), so being in a school setting helps me actually put time into learning about and creating art. I am a freshman so I’m still doing core and am not into classes specifically pertaining to my interests, but even just two weeks in I’ve had lots of opportunities to grow as an artist and meet other artists. I feel motivated and like I have a path set out before me that I can carve however I’d like which is very reassuring. My experience is limited but honestly I think it comes down to what you want your career to be in and how available connections are to you. There’s a lot you can learn about illustration online for free, but when things get more technical, for example when it comes to animation or something, then it’s gonna be a lot easier to be in the industry if you’re formally taught because there are so many aspects to it. I grew up in a rural town farming community, the only other artists I knew for a majority of my 18 years there were my friends and peers at school (and there were only like 4 of us tbh), I had no connections outside of my town (and honestly outside of my friend group). If you live in a large town or city then you probably have more access to other artists and possible internships/training/work. Of course, this line is blurred by the internet and social media connections, but making friends with success online artists can be very difficult, especially the more popular they are. For me art school is a pretty equal split of being taught the more technical aspects of art and just meeting other artists who have connections. I can’t speak for any school other than my own, but most, if not all, professors at my school are coming from working in the industry or being successful freelancers and so they are a wealth of knowledge and links to the art industry. Then, it’s whittled down to the money aspect of course. I’m lucky, my parents have always supported me as an artist and are helping pay for me to go to college, but not everyone has that luxury. There isn’t a hard yes or no answer for whether you should go to art school or not, it depends on your background and ambitions for the future, but discussing it certainly helps people at crossroads decide who’s experience aligns with their own and can help them see what might be most useful for their own path, so thanks for making this video Lemi! It’s an important topic in the community that I feel like is always expressed with a lot of bias towards either side, but you did an excellent job presenting it objectively.
LaurenTiare She never said art was shameful, she’s talking about “the journey” you can take to make your art. She’s discussing the topic many artists face and it’s “is being self taught or going to an art school shameful”
Chara actually I was referring to the thumbnails title, and making my view from that to express my opinion from my own experiences as an artist, believe it or not lol, I’ve been doing this for 16 yrs...and I’m self taught so I’m looking at it from what I have gone through and what lemi has gone through as well, I listened before I commented this actually
For the most part, I'm self taught. I did eventually go to art school, but I feel like it really isn't for me. It could just be me, but I felt like the things I drew just weren't good compared to the people around me. Not to mention that there are somethings that you're expected to know, but I had never done before. Yeah, I did make progress, but I still can't get over that thought. At the moment, I'm taking a year off to do some self studies and see whatever kind of tutorials I can find online before I go back to school.
I'm self taught as if now, and I'm proud that I got as far as I did without taking any art classes (not as an elective or outside of school), but in the future I would love to get involved in a class or another kind of art community so I can grow even faster than I have so far. So I'd be proud to say so if i'm the future I could say both ^^
I had this one classmate that saw me drawing in class and said, “Do you go to art school or take art classes?” And I said no. She was really shocked, like REALLY SHOCKED. I told her not all artists go to art school or take art classes. And I’m just shocked that she thought all good artists go to art school
i have never been to art school. the only art classes i've taken were the ones in public grade and high school, which only taught me that i despise drawing self portraits and still-lifes lmao. i am self taught. almost every 'adult' (referring to people noticeably older than i am, though i'm also an adult) who sees my art tells me that i should go to art school. i find it rather annoying that they assume the only way to get better is to go to art school, and i'm rather proud of being self taught, though i don't think there's any shame at all in going to school for it, either; i just don't like school, and i learn things better on my own. i have no intention of going to art school for the above reasons. and i hope to be a "professional" artist in that i hope to make a living off of my art in one form or another, but i don't have a desire to work for a big company or anything like that.
I can totally understand a younger person asking if I went to art school or not- like you said, to decide what education path is right for them. I usually question people why they ask, so that if they do have further questions they might be more motivated to ask them. However, I have seen older people ask the same questions, and it always feels like a loaded question. It feels like they use it to make a judgment on my character or my artwork somehow.... And baseless judgments too either way, because I'm sure education suits some people more than others- and there are so many factors at play as to why somebody may or may not go to art school. I've had a number of older people see my work and tell me "You should go to art school!" Or "When are you going to art school?". I understand the intention behind it, but to me it doesn't come across as thoughtful to so easily suggest somebody take on such a huge commitment. I wouldn't go up to a dog groomer and tell them they should go to Vet School just because they like working with animals. But once again, it's just another case of people not fully understanding art careers/art in general, and a miscommunication built upon this.
I guess this is just another case of people dropping the egos and the stigmas, as per usual. All that matters is the outcome. It matters not if you taught yourself or were taught by the best, the way I see it, it always just ends up with people describing themselves in such a way as to justify why they arent quite happy with where they are at the moment/justify why they're better than literally everyone else in the room (in their head, anyways). "I was only self taught, so im not that good", "I was ENTIRELY self taught, i trained for 11 years in a taoist monument on top of the himalayas in isolation drinking nothing but yak milk, look how cool I am" or "I went to artschool, so clearly know more than you all" are the only times i hear any artist bring this up outside of if a general member of the public asks them the question for pretty much the reason that you stated in the vid. I think most good artists genuinely dont care, lol. People should perhaps view it this way, as long as youre either satisfied with the final outcome or know how to improve, all of this stuff shouldnt matter that muchl. The only reason im studying a degree is both to push my own learning, as i know im a tad lazy if unfocused at times, and to create a stronger platform to advertise myself to studios (putting it all on cv, building a stronger focused portfolio than i would be able to on my own, ect). But thats just my two cents, lol
I'm a 14 year and I actually haven't thought about this subject in a long time. This year I just started art school and this type of school u have to audition for it so ofc before that I had claimed myself as a self taught artist. However when I did claim myself as a "self taught" artist I did feel a sense of pride. But now haveing started art school I do find that I have learned a lot of new things that I would have never did on my own. Overall I feel as if either way being self taught or school taught it all matters on how the person feels towards. Whether they love it or not. Also great video Lemia!! Rly made me think! :D
Moriko Megu But you were still making art regardless of what it was! When I started I drew celebrities, now I find that boring af but it was still art xD
Moriko Megu I understand the Sonic thing, but how is anime art "cringy"? If you look on the Internet, you'll see that some professional artists make a living from drawing anime. I don't understand why some people consider anime cringy..
Mystical Myst The issue wasn't anime itself, my current style is what's considered anime. The issue was that I was one of those cringy weebs who drew really bad anime shit as well as Sonic. I of course still do both today because I am a big fan of both, but my work today is no where near as bad or limited as it use to be...
For me, since I’m only 11, a lot of people have told me my art is good. I think when I do these drawings, I don’t make myself uncomfortable with the shapes and flaws. I would be happy. But in class, I always hear in the room with people saying that they’re horrible at drawing. It makes me uncomfortable. And people do that more when they hear it. I’m self-taught, and I look at art online and I adore it. I sometimes compare but I have taught myself to never say that I’m bad. I just think, I need to change that and that, but if I don’t know how to, I look online for examples. I never push myself too hard because when you are someone who draws more simple but wants super realistic within a day, they hate the outcome. So I remember, go easy and don’t hurt your mental state. And love yourself and what you make. 😊
I was searching for the right sketchbook for the right medium and found this video. Your statement "a self taught artist has to spend a lot of time researching things ".. this really relates to me lol. I'm a self taught artists and m neither proud nor shameful about this. I just draw what I love and when I don't understand a thing I just look up to the Google and RUclips to find my own answers. And yeah that probably takes me a lot of time to find it but doing so I do gain a lot of informations other than the specific topic I was looking for(like how I find this video). And I love how I gather information about art in this way. And your drawing in this video is so beautiful.
My boyfriend's little sister used to refuse to let anyone show her how to draw anything because she only wanted to be "self-taught". I had to explain that everyone gets a bit of knowledge from other sources. You can be self-taught and have watched RUclips videos or used references (which she also refused to do). But after I cleared that up, we sat down for an afternoon and I tried to help her draw faces and bodies and hair and anything else she wanted to know. I'm by no means an artist, but being able to share your knowledge with someone is a great feeling. We also made her a mini DnD campaign and she loves to draw her Tiefling Warlock and pet hawk.
I'm a middle school artist, been complimented about my not-so-'talent' from second grade. I'm a traditional kid, using pencils. Never had anyone to teach me how to do so besides my school art teacher until I was in third grade, which was just when I started watching speed paints. I took small 'tips' from those videos. I was in 5th grade when I found my current art-sensei. Her speed paints of traditionalism were similar to how I drew- with colored pencils. I took her idea of using a black pen instead of a pencil as an outline. Other than those two idols, I have been completely self taught. It kind of hurts my soul to be doodling in class and have a kid walk up to me. He'd say, "Hey! What instructor do you use?" I'd respond with, "Self-taught." The kid would frown and go to a friend group and start talking. Later, the group would come and say, "Why'd you lie to our friend?" I'd say nothing and just look at my doodle paper until they left. It was depressing for me, someone who'd been teaching herself to draw for more than four years, just to be labeled as a kid who went to an expensive art school and is just bragging. I don't brag about my art. I really don't. It's nice to see people who think the same way. Thanks for reading this far if you really did. - w -
N-no, I didn't try to. I tried to make it seem as not-braggy as possible. I tried to make a realistic comment about what's happening in my current art 'career' if you can even call it that. But, uh, sorry if it seemed I was bragging.
This is a really good topic! As a homeschool graduate, I never had any formal education relating to art. My first sort of "teaching" was my super incredible idea of laying a piece of paper over a picture in a book, and tracing it. And that's when I was like 6. After that I started getting books from the library, Most of which I only picked up the smallest tips from. I've only had access to drawing tutorials online for the last 5 ish years (thanks to different platforms to share art with becoming increasingly popular). So to answer the question, yes I am (99%) self taught. The only time I look at tutorials is to make sure I have anatomy right, or to make sure I'm using a new tool correctly. But, I would absolutely love to take formal classes to expand my knowledge of techniques and styles.
It's kinda funny for me because I've been self taught for years and now I'm applying for art school xD And honestly I don't understand the whole shame&pride thing :/
+RoRi DooDles It's the way others make you feel about it. Some people think art school is more prestigious and others think being self taught is more remarkable. Or vice versa when someone puts you down about how you learned. Lol
@@louisaamabel1618 I think people try to put down art school because some have had bad experiences (which happens no matter what field your in, it's not art specific, so that's not a good argument) or because some people act so prestigious and prideful about it that it makes people want to hate art school. Of course there's that awkward 3rd group who's ego is too big to accept the criticism and actually learn something out of it, in which case art school would be useless because they aren't trying to learn. Truth is, there's nothing wrong with art school. It's a perfectly valid resource, just like online tutorials and classes, and you are a perfectly valid artist who works just as hard whether you use it or not. People just need to get over the art school/"self-taught" stigma completely, if your art is good, your art is good, and that's that.
It is always a hard decision, where or how to study.....Very good topic to discuss, compare and possibly help a young/starting artist to decide :).... Also I really like how the colors in your illustration turned out.
I agree that technically no one is self-taught since we always learn from somewhere. But I consider someone self-taught (including myself) if they never had an instructor. Meaning, you never have someone, either in person or online, who is dedicated for some time (such as a class) to teaching you art. I have never taken a class in art or had any instructor. But in a way, RUclips was my art school since I always turned to it whenever I wanted to learn something (and thus am now trying to contribute to the wonderful community that taught me). But that is different than having an instructor because as you mentioned, you have to figure out WHAT to learn rather than having someone who tells you and gives you a way to do it. I've never been ashamed or prideful of being self-taught. I just am lol. I've never felt limited or that I can't "get good" because of it, nor did I feel like I'm on some pedestal because I learned on my own. I also don't think any lower or higher of people who have taken classes or went to art school. They just are.😉 Sorry for the super long comment😅
I personally never will go to art school, and I hate it when people say I should go or if they ask me if I have gone. Maybe what you say is right for some people that they are just curious, but for the people who have asked me, they were trying to see if they should validate my skill as if I HAD to go to art school else I could NEVER draw that good (not saying I'm amazing but people who see me stuff seem to freak out as if they just discovered the lost city Atlantis). I also hate it when they say I should go to art school, like...all I hear when you say I should go to school is wow you need help. I know they mean the opposite but it just sounds so wrong to me. I am happy with myself to not be in art school I find it more impressive because then people can't dismiss it as if I went to school so ohhhh that's why, you had to be taught and had your hand held. People don't know how art school works generally, they just know school, you're dumb and you get smart by going. Not to offend anyone who goes to art school! if you like to go or wanna go that's cool! :3
Elly Kim that's not what s/t/he(y) meant at all. s/t/he(y) meant that people think that s/t/he(y) isn't as good at drawing if they went to art school kind of? like that it was easy for her/him/them and not as impressive if they went to art school. you know what I mean?
Going to art school is not easy I think doing both is just fine and not shameful at all but doing art in art school should not be invalidated. Both sets of students are as hardworking as each other. You don't enter art school and ur good. You actually have to work in your own time too get better. I think doing both is amazing and it really shouldn't matter.
I used to go to art/ craft classes in china as a young elementary school kid and I was totally bad at it. However I found it really fun! I also went to a kindergarten class also in China that taught "Chinese calligraphy art". I didn't like being taught in a class like that. I also had another class that taught me sketching and crafting during summer breaks. I never quite enjoyed being given an assignment like art is a homework. I wanted art to be fun, a hobby, and I just decided to self teach myself. I would draw whatever I like and practice sketching and anatomy every now and then.
I was in an Illustration class for two years, and I do feel proud when telling people that I'm an educated Illustrator, because that sounds more fancy than just "I like to draw". And some people respect you more if you have some sort of education. I also really loved the school and the class, and I learned soooo so so much, so that's also part of the reason I'm proud of it. Though, I have also improved a lot after I graduated in 2015, mostly by watching art videos on youtube and doing drawing challenges on instagram. Great and interesting video, I've never really thought much about the topic, but I think I agree with you for the most part!
I'm self-taught, and I'm really proud because of how far I am and how much I've improved without any professional artist's help. I think you should be proud of your art no matter how you learned to do it. Self-taught or school-taught, you should be proud of how good you are and how far you've gotten.
While that’s your opinion, you should remember if someone wants to spend money to go to an accredited art school to get a degree, then that’s their right and they shouldn’t be looked down on because of it.
I know I'm late to this video discussion, but I'm so glad you made this video. I am always so afraid to tell people that I'm not going to college for art and prefer to develop and study on my own.
I'm 16 and I'm a self-taught artist (I'm homeschooled so I've never been to a class of any kind). I've always drawn but I got my first sketch book and art supplies when I was 11 so I could start actually trying to improve. I've had people ask if I've ever taken a class and sometimes I feel like I'm set back by never having had a professional guide me in my drawing. Although I am very proud of being self taught too. People are always shocked I can draw like I can without having been taught. I'm not planning to go to an actual art school but I'm considering art therapy because I love art but I also want to help people and I think it would be cool to be able to do both :) I loved this video as I love all of your videos! I love hearing your point of view on these art topics because you're always informed and honest. Great job! :D
I like the way you use your colours for shading and creating depth. As about your subject: I had formal training that would fit in your definition of 'art school' and I think that 'self-taught' and 'formally educated' aren't opposite concepts. During any formal education you will typically get knowledge about history, concepts, methods and some techniques. But there will still be many things that you will have to find out for yourself. That you'll have to train yourself in. The presence of others who face the same situation, or have faced it (fellow students, teachers, professors) is a stimulating factor and also an added bonus to your own study process. But in the end we have to do the learning, we have to put in the work and we have to program our brains, our hands and fingers and so on to create...
I'm 22 and have been drawing for as long as I can remember, I've always said I was self taught but it's a great point that every artist learns things from other artwork from books people and anything else inbetween. I remember I had a big poster with dragons on it and the different types of dragons. I drew the dragons on the poster so much and started to branch off and twist things around trying to create my own neat dragon to add onto the poster. As I got older I started to look more at real animals and getting into semi-realism, then moving onto RUclips and watching speedpaints and how to videos. It inspired me to get into digital art. I honestly hated art class in my school cuz everything was so rushed I couldn't enjoy what I was creating, I ended up falling in love with ceramics class in high school and incorporate my my style into sculpting and how I paint the pieces I make. I'm proud that I've "taught" myself and I am so happy i have had the outlets to other amazing artists to help push me into trying new things with my artwork. There's no shame in being "self taught" or going to school for art. All that matters is that you enjoy and love the things you create and you're honest with the people who ask questions.
I actually agree with you on many points. I am self taught atm but i really want to go to art school yet I don't know if it is worth the time or money. The problem is everyone thinks that you're not a "real artist" if you didn't actually go to art school.
Wonderful video, I'm a retired art tutor and I found academic art classes were all about others art. You are just as much an artist as anyone whom went to art school. The best thing I learned in college was to use my eyes in a more intense way to discern details and shadeing and the critiques helped as much as competition. I feel you have more freedom of expression than those with closed minded art educations. Although many good artists come from the commercial art community, few go on to make it a life's calling. Take care and enjoy yourself. Blessings
loving this piece of artwork Lemi! personally I think that both paths have their pro's and con's. Art schools/art classes tend to be quite restrictive in the styles or subjects that they "allow" the art students to use for their schoolwork, but generally artists are commissioned or do work for a studio and dont wind up having much say in what they draw anyway. but art schools/classes also give more reliable constructive criticism and one on one support from a tutor. "self taught" artists tend to focus more on drawing what they enjoy and in a style that they like and feel comfortable with, so they dont get the push to experiment and try different styles and subject matter. self taught artists also dont necessarily have the most consistent or constructive criticism of their art, so might find it harder to know HOW to improve their art. id say im mostly self taught, though i did spend a year on an art based course (focused on the gaming industry) and i didnt find it useful in the slightest, and felt that the improvements i made within my art in that time, i would have made whether i had gone or not. however, i do want to save up to take part in Adam Duff's online mentorship at Lucidpixul, because i feel i would stand to gain a lot from it in terms of technical skill improvement. it cant solve my issues with procrastination or motivation though, those i will have to work on myself xD
I'm a junior in high school and everyone always asks me if I'm taking an art class at the school, you know like as an elective, and people are always surprised when I tell them that I'm not. I can't stand being told what to draw, or what style to draw in, or how often I have to draw, and I can't fathom getting graded for my artwork. I took a local art class at a studio because my mom got me classes one year for my birthday, and I hated it. All we did was still lifes and the class was 2 hours a week, which meant I had to do a 16 by 20 piece in 2 hours or I would loose my reference. It was extremely stressful and it wasn't fun at all. It also felt like such a waste of money. I do still lifes for free every day by just drawing things around the house, and the teacher wasn't really focused on teaching us, she would just kind of have conversations with us, ask what song to play next, or say something like "Good job, keep it up." The last day she let us draw whatever we wanted and when I drew my more cartoony style everyone made fun of it because theirs was more realistic, even though I was at a higher skill level than them. Also people are always assuming that I want to go to art school, but really an art degree is worthless. All that matters is your skill and your internet presence. Sure art school can help with connections, but there's nothing there that I can't learn by myself.
I'd like to think that I got a bit of help with the only 'art school' I went to - which was a summer camp for animation for teens. We were taught the basics of drawing (line of action, basic shapes to help guide through a structure) and it indeed was very encouraging to remember to keep up those habits which I still use. But right after that everything was self-taught. I'd like to think just like you mentioned on your video that both are valid methods - it just all sums up to the person working hard for it. Still, I do ask the same question to other artists I meet if they went to 'Art School' just to find out if they feel they have benefited a good chunk of their skills (or rather perfected their skills) from said school. The more I hear about some of their schooling, the more I'd like to go to one someday just to learn something new that might not have been mentioned or shared over the internet. Thanks for sharing your thoughts :D Btw, nice markerwork there :3 and I saw the additional gel coloring added to make the yellow pop out more. (I will try it out next time. Thanks! )
Beautiful marker art! Warning, This comment is really long, uhh,but I liked your points! I haven't been to art school and I focus on digital art. One thing I noticed is that sometimes I have a "language barrier" with some artists that went to an art school. I don't necessarily have words, somewhat in English (online tutorials, books etc.) but not in Finnish (my native) since that's the language used in the schools. When I had only done e.g. hand drawn frame-by-frame animation before, by myself, without really looking deeper into Animation as an art form/study subject itself (I basically just drew.), I didn't know things/words like "rotoscoping", "onion skin" or "tweening", the animation-language was "foreign", even if I had been doing/using all of those "on the go" and my hand had learned what to do. So I usually feel a bit "out of place" or "unorthodox", when talking about art stuff with people who have been to art school, and not in a cool way, I can't even be a pretentious hipster about it. :'-D I think art school is a stool that helps you reach apples from a tree, but only if you're willing to reach for them yourself. "Self taught" is more like you first try reaching the apple, then jumping and then you build a stool with some instructions you found to help you reach the damn apples. I'm not sure what the apples are. Art goals, skills, improvement...? This is kind of how I feel, because personally I'm the type that learns by listening (and somewhat by reading), so I think in my case, I would benefit from someone giving me actual advice, even a teacher's monologue. And I don't want to imply that "ohh the art school students have it so easy! Everything is just given to them!" No! It's an opportunity the students have made possible for themselves, by themselves! I don't think there's anything to be ashamed of about that and it's still up to you to utilize anything you pick up in art school. Like, the stool for the apple tree is definitely YOUR STOOL and... Wow I should have thought this weird analogy through first...
I've just completed gcse art, in which I recieved helpful pointers from and learned the value of skill within art and might have even discovered which medium and variety of art I produce the highest quality peices of artwork in, although i'm still not entirely sure. I really enjoyed it despite feeling a little insecure when seeing other classmate's artwork which was better than mine. I'm going on to do art next year at college where i hope to try everything, be experimental and bold as well as build skill for what I already enjoy. Following that I plan to attend university and study art, I have very little knowledge of its curriculum at this precise moment but I would like to use the qualifications that these procedures bring me do obtain a job in the field of art. I don't know what yet. I would not be ashamed to tell people this, as I don't think it matters and I don't imagine they'd be particularly bothered, they have their own lives to worry about.
time vs money. I took an art class at college and it was just okay. i didnt learn much but i did enjoy the people around me. But not worth the money. It got slowly worse though, like they wanted a deeper meaning to everything when there wasnt any.
1st off, you should be proud of what you’ve accomplished. Your art. Is wonderful. I took a few classes years ago, which dint help me. Every time I would ask is there a better way to draw hair or the human form the answer would be, well just draw what you see. That was no help, I’ve learned more from watching RUclips than anyplace else. Still learning. I want to learn how to draw digitally without a glittering effect on the tablet, but I have to say I have not practiced much. I’ve been practicing the traditional route as is 3/17 and want to have a career as a character designer and children’s book illustrator/writer. I need to work hard at it because I don’t have a job right now, so praying and working hard to succeed. Will be getting my website up soon and am a member of SCWBI.
I've been self taught, for now. I want to go to art school but I'm not sure if I should stick to doing art completely. I'm not that great at art, but the artists on RUclips who have been to school are AMAZING, so as the self taught artists.
I've been to art school, i mean only for watercolors and stuff but i'm pretty neutral.. -I mean i'm proud to be in art school and that i have learned something that "maybe" someone who hasn't been to art school has been trying to learn for years. And have professionals look and help me develop my work. -And ashamed that i had to let professionals teach me things like do this and that, and you know feel dependent, that i'm just paying people to teach me something one has been trying their best to perfect alone.. just the thought of "being dependent" *but that's wrong* Because whether we've been or haven't been to art school doesn't matter it's the 'how much effort' is placed to become as good as the artist your looking up on or just wanting to be better which is what makes you An Artist :) Beautiful video and choice of topic Lemia! I respect your opinions everyone, but i turn against them in my head
I have to take a test today afternoon, and i didn't felt like i can do it, i begin to watch videos about art and i started drawing faces and hairs while i listened to your vioce, i hated drawing "whole" humans i only drew parts like an eye or just a hair without face, now i completed 2 head in a row, i feel so satisfied (and i like my drawing, its not so common) and all my stress is gone, like we had a talk about art in a caffee or something, thank you so much, your videos are awsome, and i found your talking about art so relaxing like wow thats how i think i'm so glad i found your channel thank you and have a really nice day :)
So I'm 13, almost 14 and I am thinking more and more of what I'm going to do as an adult. I know, I have a ways to go, but I feel like somethings pushing me to start early. That something which I later found out was art. It doesn't shame me to tell people that I don't have plans to go to art school, and I'd like to be semi-self-taught. I say semi-self-taught because truly I use things like art videos and art books to further my skill. What really gets to me is if somebody says to me: "Oh well, you need to go to college." Especially when it's a family member. I feel it's okay to be self-taught or even semi-self-taught, and it doesn't make an artist more professional to go to art school. What a bunch of gibberish! 😊 Love ur artwork btw it's so pretty. 😍
I started coloring then drawing but I taught myself to draw.. I look at others and take there ideas then turn them into something different, one of my friends told me "you don't copy all you and (my friend) does is look at my idea and turn it around." Art school (to me)= something I can't do, because I don't want to and being told what to do is already a problem to me. And I actually think that my cousin taught me drawing, my parents supported me and I took that support and made it into my drawings, I have art once a week and I hate it cause like I said listening to others and them telling me "this is how you do it" that kills me. Great job/keep up the amazing work! :) ~Keep on inspiring~ :P :)
So far, I've been self-taught. I really want to go to art school, though, partly because of the materials. I really want to learn to animate better, but I feel hindered by my lack of animation programs. I can't afford Adobe Animate or Toon Harmony and even if I could, I wouldn't know how to use it. I really want to go to art school. I've never been asked if I'm self taught, but I always got the sense that a lot of people when they hear "self taught" they assume the person just isn't old enough to go to art school yet. That's why I think there's a bit of stigma around that.
I once told a kid I took art classes when I was six, he called me a fake and then said I was a horrible artist and the worst he ever met. It was embarrassing. But I do agree with all your points, he’s just a weenie.
I have never been to art school before but I draw on a sight and get many loves for my art and some mean comments but what I do for mean comments is I use them to help me get better.Some of my art I don't think is good and that I can do better at it but I have random people on the site I draw who help me improve and tell me truthfully if something can be improved and if so I try to improve at it.I have no shame of not going to art school and I have been thinking of going,but with my behavioral health it is hard to be around others in public.When the question is asked from me I say I have never been to Art school but have others who help me Improve and I am Willing to use people's comments to either improve or see if I like what I'm doing or if I see i want to change something.i love you and your videos so much♥️
In highschool, it was a public school, I took art all 4 years. It did teach me a lot about art. Just in general, not a particular style. I had all ready been drawing before highschool, which is why I even wanted to take art all 4 years of high school. But I definitely do think taking those classes did help me. They wanted me to not always rely on my manga style of drawing and branch out and do different styles, they didnt forbid me from drawing in my style but they wanted me to draw in different styles, and I felt that doing that helped me improve when I would go back to my style of drawing. Taking those art classes taught me more about the fundamentals of art that I didnt know beforehand that I can apply even today 5 years after I graduated. So I feel taking art classes on highschool helped me out. If I never took those classes I’m sure I would still learn what I learned but I think it might have took more time. All in all, I’m self taught but art class in highschool did help me along the way.
I've contemplated going to school for specifically art. I went to school for video game art and animation and I learned some basics for color theory, photoshop and lifedrawing for two years. But besides that I am self taught. And before I went to college I had already learned a lot on my own. College mildly polished my abilities, but college itself didn't make me better. Now that I'm out of college I've still gotten better at my "style" and figuring out how I like to draw things. But art is still my hobby and over all I consider myself still self taught. I like to draw what I want to draw because that's what inspires me to draw in the first place. Like you said the thing limiting me is my work ethic. I don't want to practice drawing people or scenery because I get frustrated really quick and just give up. And in turn when I DO feel like drawing those things I just can't, because I've never really practiced. Art school wouldn't help me with that if in the end I still don't want to work on those things. I think I can get better without going to school and spending all that money, just by changing my work ethic, biting the bullet and just practice stuff even if I don't want to, because in the end it'll help me improve.
First off, about getting a job at Disney as an artist. I went to San Diego ComicCon 2017, and watched a panel that included some headhunters in the art industry, and a producer from Disney. In that panel I found out they rely quite a bit on your online portfolio, and they don't necessarily look for the most awesome art out there, but the ability to improve continuously. They actually don't hire people right out of art school at Disney, and the producer (the one at the panel) who was hired as an artist at first was someone self-taught, he hadn't even done anything in high school for art. You will however, need an in, which is where if you find out the contact info for one of the headhunters, you can at least make them aware of your artwork but don't go job begging to them or they will ignore you. Now, I'm going to compare this "Art school" vs "Self-Taught Artist" to the industry I major in. I have taught myself how to fix desktop computers and laptops. I know the limits of power supplies, USB1-3.1C, Intel vs AMD, Graphics Card optimization, HDD vs SSD, RAM DDR2-4, and more. I still run into places where the guys fail to mention when you need a power supply upgrade as you add hardware to your desktop computer, and these guys all tend to have the same thing in common: They went to college/University for their computer education. They actually knew less than I did coming out of formal education. Continuing, many of the great artists in history were all self-taught, including ones who have only died in the last 100 years. However, you have a proportional amount of successful artists from formal education at the same time. in the end, it really comes down to practice and commitment, more than what kind of education you receive, in addition to continued self-improvement. When you stop trying to get better, and explore new things as you achieve old ones, that is when you start to fail.
Whats funny is, ive been to college for art courses, and did art in highschool, but i had to teach myself EVERYTHING. Ive never learnt any skills in art classes other than how to format things. Ive taught myself absolutely everything ive learnt but where ive been just peovided the materials. Even in the course we just assigned something and we have to figure it all out by ourself. Im jelous of people who have actually been taught stuff in art. But to be fair, i have learnt a few techniwues in art college, such as sewing like how to use the machine, and this sort of ink printing thing, but everything i actually do, such as painting, drawing, using pens, scultping and animating (never been anywhere for animating) etc, ive taught myself absolutely everything since i was young, so i dont like to say i have been taught these things by schools when ive learnt this all throughout my life, it feels like im giving credit to people who havent given me these skills as i worked hard to teach myself these things. I dont really class my course in general college as art school, but going to art courses has helped me link to the jobs. If i never went to art courses, i would be at the same level in my own art, if not furthur in the things i wanted to achieve in as i cant draw the things i want to improve on because i have these tasks
even though this wasn't the topic of the video this video helped me get a little less self-concuss I'm a self taught artist and I would do art that people would tell me I should get out there and start selling, but I would be too shy and look down on myself because I was self taught, but realizing your self taught and your AWSOME it has et me out of my shell a tiny bit Thank you.
i probably wont ever go to school, but art is more like a hobby and i do it in waves, right now i'm drawing alot but it'll probably stop after the week is over and i wont draw for another 2 months
I've been to art school but for animation and VFX. I've always wanted to be an animator, but after art school, I've kinda been discouraged and changed my mind. That's somewhat because of anxiety and how I felt about my school. I eventually graduated with a focus in Compositing, and I highly regret it. I wasn't really passionate about it and it reflects in my portfolio. I wish I had stuck with animation or some time of graphic design, where I have the passion. I think I was just so overwhelmed by all the talent around me and how my school tends to play favorites but that's everywhere. However, that being said, I am highly greatful that I went to art school and graduated it was a big accomplishment I wanted to achieve. If you really want to go to art school go! You'll learn a lot of stuff meet new people and become fully emerged into the subject. Though, if you don't want to go, don't. Don't let what others say influence your choices and don't force yourself to go.
Personally I had a bit of a messed up education and did a lot of "is this the right thing for me" ... and a whole bunch of going in circles. I have done hair dressing, graphic design and worked as a secretary before realising that choosing a career while so young is a stupidly hard thing to do. Your thrust into the position of, "this will effect the rest of your life" and for me that phrase did mess me up. I chose hair dressing out of sheer panic that I would become a bumm and live off of handouts (which is my worst nightmare). After a lot of being lost, depression and anxiety I realised that actually just because in high school I was told that only real artists are those who paint fruit and real life (I am much more children book style) can be anything. I believed that... and in actual fact art is the only thing I really ever want to do because I love it. I drew a lot while working as a secretary but ALWAYS hid it, and was ashamed for thinking art was a path. Until one day ... a random day where I was feeling particularly brave, I contacted my old graphic design tutor - who knew I liked illustration. And chose to go back to higher education to do 2 years on a HND for graphic design (but tailored around illustration) and finished with a BA top up uni course called... "Creative Design Practice". I did it all for a mix of reasons. Mainly because I was so scared to do anything, partly to be retaught Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop and InDesign and partly to meet like minded individuals in a similar situation. I came out of it all wiser, stronger and ready to face the world. But most of all realising that there is no full stop to learning, there is always something to learn, a new technique to master, a new view to listen too. Going to an art school is only a stepping stone, and whatever route is taken should be a personal preference - one that will always grow :) This is a subject that is deep with so many varied routs there is no right and wrong in my eyes. However I do know some fine artists who frown on anything other than what they know... But I just think to myself, "Well, that's their loss". Thank you for this video :) You've done fantastically and I marvel at your independence and courage to go down the self taught route :)
I took a couple of art classes at a community college, but I am mostly self taught. It was such a great experience. I feel like I was able to refine the skill I already had and my professor was great at showing me what I could do better. I would suggest that before going to an actual art school, try the community college classes first to see how you like it. :D
I was self taught for 4 years and FINALLY took an art class. There is an awesome difference! I'm challenging myself now, and I get to see ways to improve and my actual level in art! I love it!!!
As a person who went to several art courses (following your definition, my highschool - in my state we choose type of school not subjects inside a generic school - the european academy of manga and some other stuff comic related... now i'm majoring in paper art and photo conservation and it is kinda still art related...) after a long period of time where i basically learned through experience (art youtube in my language was not a thing at the time and i could not understand english yet...). From my experience i feel like art school gives you theorical knowledge on the basis like colour, line, proportions, hot to copy from people, how to copy from an image, art history, good and bad references and a certain type of mindset that you do not have (or will get after an awful lot of time if you are self teaching yourself) so it is great. Also i see the trend where people think that works from people who are self taught (s.t. for short) is more valuable because "it's raw talent" ignoring the time spent studying of people getting a formal education... so you also see advices from some of s.t. people like keep practicing (which is terrible advice on his own) of see them being overly proud of a beautiful painting lacking tone/colour/perspective comprehension. the other way round you also see some kinds of art school people believing that because they are getting educated everything that they draw is perfect and correct and won't take criticism or even share their knowledge to someone who's willing to self teach but has no money to pay for art school (it can get quite expensive ngl - except for my high school, which was public and free, i was lucky to have supporting parents who payed for my other courses). which is both sad and wrong to me... :/ from this then you see people saying stuff like "yes i went but i still self taught me the whole thing" to distance themselves from the snobby art school kids... but it is also downgrading the importance of knowing that formal training art school only can give you, and that knowledge is a huuuuuge advance on knowing what you want to experience and how and knowing what you are trying will end up roughly instead of going blind in the huge world of art as a self taught.
I'm a sophomore in college and I recently changed my major to studio art because I'm not progressing as a self-taught artist and I want to make art for a living. I'm hoping that in addition to learning fundamentals that will help me improve the composition itself, I will be exposed to new mediums and techniques that will help me transfer the idea in my head onto paper or my computer screen more fluidly. I think that I've come a long way already being self-taught, but I also want to learn from people who are proven professionals and get feedback on how to improve, which is something I don't get from social media as I'm not popular at all
I'm going to college to study art next year and am very glad of it. To me it's worth it because art is my most enjoyable subject and I'd love to spend more time to become better at it so people can get the same joy out of my art as i do. I don't think there's any shame or pride in being self taught or art schooled its just (as said on the video) about how much effort you put in and how much joy you and others can receive from it.
I think the question is interesting, I don't think people should feel shame if they are self taught or go to school. I feel like one source of shame for some who goes to school also revolves around how expensive it is to go to a good art school and worrying if they will be judged and treated as "you paid to be as good as you are." Where as often I'm sure most followers ask because as you said, they are thinking about art school. I personally am currently in art school studding animation. I feel like art school being a good idea is a case by case situation. In my case I went to an engineering prepschool of sorts for middle and highschool with no art classes. I was set up for a life of doing that, and the kicker is I hate engineering. Art school was the right choice for me to make connections with other artist, to learn from masters of the craft, and to take myself farther then I could ever go by myself. But some people improve better on their own time. I do believe that being self taught is a thing, at least by the following definition concept. Sure there are tutorials and resources that can be found to help, but an individual must find them and research is part of teaching ones self. Like if someone bought several chemistry books then proceeded to learn and one day make amazing discoveries that weren't in the book that would be considered teaching themselves. I personally think the term should be applied to the idea of if someone goes to school for their topics or not. Though I disagree because of how I view the definition I do agree no one can get better by themselves, looking at other art, or tutorials, or reviving critique is important to improving, in a sense we are all taught and inspired by what is available to us regardless of if we go to school or not. So no one should feel shame for either because art and improving at it is very difficult and at the end of the day, everyone works hard for it.
I’m 11 at the moment and I haven’t had any training with my art. Well to be honest, I don’t have a choice. I’m not old enough to chose what I do in school because I’m only in year 7. And I hadn’t really thought about any other kind of, as you say, formal training. I plan to go to art school when I’m old enough but don’t really know where to look. I want to be an animator but I know that will take a lot of time and effort to get where I want to be. I’m getting a free program called fire-alpaca soon and are in the process of finding a cheap-ish drawing pad for my computer as my friend that draws has one and I fell in love with it the first time I used it!😍 one time, while I was sketching a picture of my sister in school, a girl I know asked me if one of my parents is an artist which made me fell so good inside: that was a few years ago and ever since I have practicing my butt off and that is when I started to imagine myself being some sort of artist in the future! What do you think I should do??? 🤔🤔
I did go to those art classes as a kid where teachers would sit with you after school and paint or draw. But I was a kid and had no understanding about it. It was all "DRAWING IS FUN! I'M GONNA DRAW A DRAGON!!" *doodles a weird gecko* Years pass and I instead have books on art (specifically manga and cartoon styles) as well as looking at multiple RUclips videos which further help me (whether it's tips on drawing, how to draw _____, or even advice or encouragement) I learn how to draw for myself by trial and error and going online for help, strangers/New friends often assume I've had someone taught me. Sometimes it doesn't rise up. Before the video I never thought it to be discouraging to have been a self taught artist because "I like to draw, what does it matter where or how I learned it from?" I also thought it'd be nice to go to art school, but sometimes it can be pricy as well as where to stay (I'm moving and the art school in the country I'll be in is a 5 hour drive from where I'll be staying) so maybe eventually I'll consider going to an art school, but for the time being, I'm okay and happy with the way I've learned to draw.
I've always felt proud of the fact I was completely self-taught before college, mostly because I taught myself how to draw in spite of having multiple congenital neurological disorders that sometimes make it difficult to even keep my food on my fork long enough to get it in my mouth. But, I'm not ashamed of my time in college art classes, watching RUclips tutorials, etc. in fact, I encourage people to observe, study and try out as many different mediums and different people's styles as possible so you can discover what you like best, are most skilled at and have the most fun doing.
I actually graduated from college with a BFA (Bachelor's of Fine Arts) in Studio Arts, and am currently working on a MFA (Master's of Fine Arts) in Illustration-Comics. I honestly didn't even know that Art Shame was a thing. You are totally right that it all depends on the dedication behind how well you are. I love to learn, and education is a very important thing in my family, so I was expected to go to college, and I am super proud of my degree (and my potential Masters). But I'm not prideful. It's not that I'm proud of the degree itself, but of the hard work I put into them. But I feel even with that, going to school really helped me a lot. I could tell the difference in my skills between only A FEW MONTHS of being in school. But even with all that hard work, I still find myself learning from outside sources (mainly RUclips tutorials). And honestly, about the part where you said you knew people who went to school but felt like they didn't learn all that much, I put a lot of careful thought into the schools I chose, and I recommend anyone considering going to art school to do the same. For my undergrad, it was back in 2009 when doing a degree online wasn't that common, and I couldn't afford to move out of state. So I found a school near by that was known for a fairly good art program. And for grad-school, I signed up for a fairly big art school online. I've already accepted the fact that I'm going to be poor the rest of my life, but my yearning to learn out weighs my concern for money.
I'm self taught and for the first time I'm taking art classes now that I'm in college and I have to say classes really do help mainly because it feels like I have more support and motivation when there are other artists around me who I know are just as passionate about what I am- as a self taught artist that is something I was always paranoid about- things like does this really look good? or am i just blind and cant see what's off or feeling like drawing may not be worth it because I'm so alone and not able to share it and get feedback, but now I feel like I can rely on my classmates to give me critique and seeing their work also hypes me up- it also presents new networking opportunities. I do really think if you are passionate about art as a career regardless of if you were initially self taught or been to an art school prior then art school/college is 100% a great option and totally worth it
I go to art school and love that I go here. One of the main reasons for doing so was because I know if i had gone to a normal college or majored in something other than what i did (illustration) I would find it hard to make time to even do work at all! In a way though I do feel bad about going to art school because I feel like there's such a bad stereo type about it. Every time I tell someone outside my college I feel like they'll think im going nowhere or that I'll never be able to live off it. Itys certainly unfortunate to think that way but it does happen sometimes. Loved the video and the drawing by the way! Feel bad im never around anymore D:
i feel the people who say, "just cause i went to art school, does not mean i did not put as much effort" although true there may people who are just defending themselves, they may also be trying to encourage aspiring artists to work harder for there goal. i also feel your point about people in art school being exposed to more types of art all around them can make them better than those who do not have that is true, but saying it can make them better than a self taught artist with the same work ethic and ect can be argued. Due to the internet and other sources, people are being exposed to many types of art, and if your involved in watching streams or videos, you can learn techniques, styles, and fundamentals from what you see around you. one last, kinda silly thing, the point your friend made about no one being self taught, well i say, what about the first person to ever draw, being the only one to ever draw, he had no one else to tell him how to do it, so he was self taught. haha thanks for reading :3
As far as the term self-taught I see it as synonym to "I didn't have any academic training, I researched stuff on my own and learned form it" whereas academic training stands for "I had a person or multiple persons that gave me instruction and constructive criticism as a way for me to learn the trade, they also gave me literature to further my knowledge on my own. I was guided towards improvement"
I find it fascinating that it matters to people these days whether they went to art school or not. Look back at the great masters of the past and ask yourself how many of those went to art school? I didn’t go to art school and don’t feel bad about it. I know people who did go, and they had their individuality crushed out of them and they came out like little clones. I think things may be better nowadays (I’m talking 40 years ago) but art is such an individual thing and if you can express yourself without formal tuition, that doesn’t make it any less “art” than the work produced by those who have been to art school. My hubby and I watch two art competitions that they put on TV each year (landscapes and portraits) and it annoys me intensely that every year, they have the same judges, and we can predict from the outset which works they will approve, and which they will reject. We always say they go for the “daubs” lol! Someone who has painted a portrait in the style of (and every bit as good as) an old master, is rejected as being too illustrative, despite the fact that they have clearly got great skill, and have achieved a superb likeness of the sitter. I would like to see different judges each year; it would be most interesting to see which artists come out on top. It’s such a subjective matter. Also, being judged for your work (either in a competition or at art school) can be very crushing, because your art is an expression of yourself, and you can feel rejected as a person if the teacher/judge doesn’t happen to like your style. So - after this rambling, I’d say, if you want to do art, just do it. Enjoy it. Never mind what anybody else thinks.
As always, my comment pinned to the top, explaining stuff.
I made this video to NOT promote art shame. lol If you watch the entire thing I say not to feel that way. And it's more of a....do you feel a sense of shame or pride (extremes one way or another) in regard to art school or being self taught. Or hey, you may feel neither and that's normal too. lol
Some of the comments make me sad when I read them because I feel like I sorta explained everything in the video. Maybe my video discussions are too "out there" and I need to make them simpler. lol Bah, nothing worse than feeling like your video confused people instead of helping them. Sorry guys!
LemiaCrescent u shouldn't feel bad lemi . Sorry if my comment was one that made u sad 😔..... on another note ur vids r fine sometimes RUclipsrs make things to simple, unlike ur videos , ur videos r different and actual explain very well 😊
It’s not your fault if someone else fails to understand you, maybe they should rewatch it or perhaps ask instead of making rude comments. I think you explained everything really well, and it actually opened my eyes to things I don’t usually think about. 😁
I understand completely where ur coming from...people can get really antsy about it when they are asked questions about how they became an artist either through an art school or wether or not they were self taught...art is basically someone’s personality and emotions on paper...and no such thing as “self taught” ur basically just teaching ur self virtually...but although you can use both sides of the table to get the improvements you need to help strengthen ur drawings
LemiaCrescent Lol Self taught all the way, though i do feel a sense of pride with it. I agree with you though, there should be no shame in people asking, or offense. O .o Also i never have problems understanding your videos.
Well, I'm programmer, never considered doign anything in the direction of art except some sketches of some stuff. I'm here because i like listen to ppl talk...
I think neither are shameful. Both are impressive to me :)
Happy Otter Art same 😊
+Happy Otter Art Happy otter!!!
Yh
Thats me!
Exactly. Both are quite the same and learning to draw in general is super impressive. It takes a shit ton of time and dedication whether you go to art school or don't.
I'm 27 and "self taught" why should anyone feel "ashamed" of that or going to art school???
Art school is all about getting connections for work. you go to Ringling, calarts, ect to put that on a resume so you can work at a bigger company.
I didn't go to art school, but I am still a FULL TIME freelance illustrator. Going to college doesn't define your abilities. Drawing a lot daily and studying other's successful works for reasons why they are successful and trying techniques they do in your own work.
You need to be 100% dedicated to it if you want to make it your career.
TechyCutie i just visited your channel and your art is pretty cool!
I don’t think she’s saying that you should be ashamed, rather that the implications of either can make someone feel ashamed.
Your profile pic caught my eye and im in love with your art! You're self taught? Well you sure did put in effort to improve!
Sad story.
My mum says my passion for art is stupid so she won't buy me good art supplies.... And I stopped doing art for a while.... But....I'm back into it now, I suck but I'm getting better. I just need to get back into my arty self again :)
iAmMary good luck!
man, i know this is late, but your mom is a bitc-
lol jkjkjk but I wish you luck
good luck mah dude!
Good luck and just but an ereaser and a mechanichal pencil 😉
look, the good art stuff, is expensive. if you get pocket money, get it yourself. she probably dosnt want to buy it for you 'cos of the money, you dont need good things to get good at art, literally a pencil and a rubber
It really made me think when you've mentioned what your friend says about nobody being really self-taught. That's a very interesting point of view.
I was never ashamed of being self-taught. It's not like I chose to be self-taught either. Art school just wasn't meant to be. If I had the opportunity to go to an art school, I would have. The most important thing is that with or without it, I'm still doing what I love. I wouldn't change anything :)
Anita Ga
Being self-taught doesn't really exist, you have to find out some things that you can't figure out on your own, you are gonna take inspiration from other works, and use the style a little.
I think it all depends on what you define as self-taught. To me it always meant that someone is pursuing the knowledge by themselves. They decide what they want to learn, how they want to learn it, at what pace, etc. When you go to art school, the projects you work on and topics you learn about are all prepared for you. You don't have to worry about where to get the knowledge from, you just learn. You also get guidance from a professional. Both have pros and cons, if someone likes one, it doesn't mean that the other one is worse. The best thing is that we all get to chose or have an alternative in case we can't go to an art school (like in my case) :)
It kind of reminds me of travel agencies. Sure, you can plan it yourself and hope for the best. It might work, it might not, OR you can get a package at a travel agency, where you have everything set up for you to enjoy the ride! It might not be what you expected or you don't like all the aspects of it, but you are not jumping in blind xD
Self taught and art school really depends on the kind of person u are and u need different jeneral skills for self taught u need to have good searching skills and find and look up things and the ability to browse the internet freely art school u need a better ability to handle criticism and despite being quite good at drawing the possibility of being one of de worst also for self taught u need to be able to get an understanding of how different programs work and finding new techniques
What a dumb idea. Not your video. But the fact that people get offended by that question. The person wants to know. The skill is what matters
comic lizard the effort and energy and time is the most important thing is that person has a passion for what they love doing most ^^
Im sorry to be off topic but i *really* like your icon Sasha
i've never actually though about it this much , I have asked people in the comments before if they went to art school, but I never meant any harm or offence to anyone, I'm just genuinely curious about people's art history , like how they got into art and if they decided to go to school for it or not.
If they create a wonderful piece of art and someone asks them if they went to art school and they say yes (or no) does it make the piece look any different , does it make it look better or worse? No , of course not! So in the end it really doesn't matter
I have to agree. Ive only gone to Art class in school public school encore kinda thing, some people would shame my art becuz I never had any special classes. I would say my art is above adverage to what I see from all my classmates, and if I work hard enough Im almost as good as my art teacher, so what I cant understand why that makes me a bad artist or even A bad person. Oh yeah, it doesnt.
I agree.
Pretty sure artist in the old time doesn't go to school art x'D
i'm self taught
I'm in the " no one is self taught camp " on this because you have to look at how people learn and the history of learning art. Even in the renaissance era where people learned under mentors, they only learned what the mentors taught them, then why did michealaglo have vastly different artwork than Domenico Ghirlandaio? Because mentors only show you from their small perspective an artists who want to not be copies have to look around them at different fields of thought- whether you learn from books or a teacher the bias is the same, and you do the same amount of work. So to me the arbitrary distinction is a little pointless. I've had people who have gone to art school and not changed a damn bit, because it's not the school of teachers that are teaching you, it's you, taking the information and deciding what's valid and what's not. So I just fail to see how people are self taught when they are using mountains of other artists work as a baseline. Going to classes for art is totally up to you and what type of learning works best for you. There's no shame in learning from books, or people or videos. But claiming you just got to point and to point b "all on my own" to me discredits those who helped you get there.
I guess that would be true if you consider being self taught as how you described it: achieving everything by their own.
My understanding of what a self taught artist is is closer to what Lemia said, one who gathered all the information needed to learn from multiple sources by their own and did not go to art school instead being viven most of the information by a teacher (emphasis in "most"), and I believe there's nothing wrong with that.
I feel like your definition is kinda (sorry, english is not my first language and i feel like this sentence sounds kinda weird) harsh? Or like looking down on those who claim to be self taught, presenting them as pretencious. Having said that, I think the term "self taught" refers to having no formal education on the matter.
(Sorry again, the auto corrector keeps changing muy words to the closest one un spanish so there might be more than one weird word)
I agree that you should take things you learned from different places, a bit of this and a bit of that and make it your own. Unless you are an alaskan bush person, it just doesn't seem feasible to avoid outside influence.
But I think the distinction IS important for kids deciding what they want to do and how they want to go about doing it. Plus, certain companies will only hire people who have gone to school and won't even consider applications of those who are self taught. So while it seems that it's not super important (which I don't think it SHOULD be) it is important to others. :( :(
I agree to a point I’m “self taught “,homeschooled, wasn’t aloud to watch tv until I was 10 and I’m the only person in my family that draws but my mom taught me how to draw stick figures and I’ve always been fascinated with shadows and combined them at a young age i looked at people around me for anatomy until my siblings told me it looked like anime i didn’t know what that was and I hadn’t watched many cartoons yet and I hated Pokémon and still do so i looked at some books and I don’t like that style of art at all but I leaned a little bit from them and now I watch RUclips, Disney and Tim Burton films and though I’m inspired by them i don’t really draw in their style but art is in everything and we are here to express that through our minds to the viewers
Ps. I did go to two art classes but I don’t remember anything from them other than the colour wheel witch I already knew but now I got a better understanding of it and they both taught life like art styles and I draw in an 90s animated style
Thanks for reading :)
I'd say I'm half self taught. I have a more realistic style that I learned from middle and high school art classes and a more semi-toony semi-realistic style I developed over the years. I use tips from the art classes when drawing people in my style but when I draw animals I don't usually have to use a reference or use tips from school.
Well, actually I think it is possible to be self-taught. If, for example, a person tries to be realistic and is just observing the nature and tries to replicate for example, how the light works etc., and learn how to use it, and gains experience that way and improves...I think you can say that this person is self-taught. And as for technique, one can also experiment on their own with different medias and techniques.
I'm proud of being self taught, and I'm going to college ONLY so I can be a high school teacher, so I can motivate kids who need it. My art teacher constantly put me down, saying I wouldn't make it into art school, so I applied for college in spite of her, got in, and I'm going to be a teacher to replace her. Her negative words motivated me to get into school because she said I can't
Judith Kalpin 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Some teachers are just assholes who picked up the wrong job and need to find a better way to vent their frustration.
I’m also proud of self taught, I believe going to art school helps you get a job in art so that’s the only reason I’m going to an art college.
I’ve only been asked once if I was self taught and my answer to this question was “I’m RUclipsd taught” lol but it’s the truth, self taught is something I don’t feel comfortable saying because then I feel bad for not giving credit to all those ‘how to’ videos and art books that I learned so much from. From everything I’ve seen people act like being “self taught” is a huge accomplishment and I never understood why
Ocean of Dreams
i think people like to see independence as expertise, which is odd, considering how they have probably seen Yotube videos teaching art.
I kinda use RUclips as sort of a guide to learn new things too, if you consider "self-taught" as researching on your own to get better. I kinda get annoyed when people ask me because I went to school for Biology not art, but have been told before college and after that I should have gone to art school. :s I have nothing against those that do go to art school, I just wanted a new skillset (which is why I pursued Biology instead of going to an art school) BUT, most of my professors said Biology can help me become a better artist anyway lol. All my Zoology classes, I was usually the one with the best lab sketchbook. I've also gotten the comment like "I can't believe you're a biology major" whenever I used free time to sketch/doodle. They kinda make it seem like artists shouldn't be into science or vice versa.
Going to an art school and getting a degree or taking an art class is awesome, you love art so much that you committed to it and you want to educate yourself. Self taught artists are amazing too because they take time out of their day to practice all by themselves. Maddd respect! No shame in how you learn how to make art.
Also random question wasn't Bob Ross self taught?
I heard he had a teacher who also did a TV show about art. He was a really unhappy fella! LOL
Dude, I was totally right! Here you go: While staying in Alaska, Ross was working as a part-time bartender when he discovered a TV show called The Magic of Oil Painting, hosted by German painter Bill Alexander.[5]:17-18 Ross studied with Alexander
Oh 😂 wait technically then does that mean he want to an art school or was he mentored?
Probably a mentor, as in one teacher. But if you have a professional working that closely with you then I"d count that as "art school" over being self taught. lol
Ok u do have a point 😂 man if u weren't an artist u could be on tv ur really good at informing and persuading 😊
LemiaCrescent I never knew that lol
I’m an art school graduate and a huge advocate for going to art school if that’s something you want to pursue but I always tell people that art school isn’t what you expect it to be. You can go in thinking “I want to do photography” and come out thinking “wow I actually really enjoyed doing sculpture. I’ll do that instead”
I thought I wanted to illustrate children’s books but now I do pop culture conventions and a little bit of merch manufacturing.
Art school for me was three years of exposure to other artists and being introduced to new fields I’d never even heard of. It was networking and learning how to grow as an art business.
I think more that anything else, when you go to art school you don’t necessarily come out with better practical art skills but you come out with a lot of knowledge and interpersonal skills that you might not have if you’d had to learn on your own.
And one other thing, at school I taught at least as much as I learned because I had knowledge from being self taught beforehand that some other people didn’t (I taught myself to do digital art in high school and quite a few people couldn’t wrap their heads around it so I helped them keep up when the lessons were going to fast)
It’s all about sharing what you know and being willing to learn from others.
Excellent video Lemi 💕
Why is it shameful? The only people who should feel shame are the ones telling people they are not real artists. Create good art and never let anyone tell you anywise.
I am a self taught artist. And honestly, I'm extremely proud of that. I worked for a very long time developing my art style and techniques. But now that I started public schooling again, people found out I'm self taught and tell me I'm lying or that I'm not a true artist because of it.
I am a self taught artist and animator, but I don't feel shameful or proud of it. I put more focus on the quality of my art and animations. Because my focus is on the quality and improvement I make, next year I will be taking a university course in animation. Now they may not be able to teach me things that I don't already know, but what I've found is that just being in an environment with such good aspiring artists accelerates my improvement and learning.
I feel proud to be self taught for me it means I developed a more unique style from more diverse sources and have a different way of drawing
Speaking from the point of view of a total layperson who has never been an artist, I think most people perceive art as _more_ impressive if the artist is self-taught. Like artists might go back and forth on the social politics of who learned what from whom, but an outsider is just gonna be like "Wait you learned to do that without any formal instruction? Holy shit"
Tamar H. I agree, like sure going to an art school is great it does help but I love seeing art from someone who didn’t take any classes and how they formed their own style and became amazing all by themselves. I’m “self taught” and I do love when people ask me how I got where I am.
I am self taught, but I don’t find it impressive. It’s just practice and self-motivation, there isn’t much to it. I don’t really mention it that much, because people might say stuff like “oh you haven’t been to art school, you’re not a real artist.” Or something similar to that. I do have pride that I was one of those lucky enough to have the ability to be self taught, but most people take it the wrong way, or are too supportive. So I just say noting when the subject comes up.
Heheh. I'm 12. I obviously haven't been to art school. I haven't taken any art classes either. I feel like both have their pros and cons. You could become an amazing artist either way! At art school you probably have more a time management skill developed, because due dates at school. But being self taught there's not as much stress (I mean, unless you take commissions, then you have, like, a lot of stress) And, this is all guesswork because I haven't done any of these things. Heheh
I am both. Im 13 and I go to college on Tuesday to do my Art Course and then I have time at home to do my own personal things. It's less stressful and in my comfort zone.
Commisions are stressful but hey its easy money so why not
Jesus, this question is a minefield. Firstly, Im a professional artist. Secondly, I'm both self taught *and* went to art school, or didn't, depending on what youre asking. Because its not a simple, straightforward question. So, I went to a liberal arts school. Not an art school (art school is a specific thing - it grants BFAs and MFAs). However, I got a BA in studio art. which is where it starts to get messy. I took about 50 hours of major-specific courses (or art classes) whereas someone going to art school takes probably 100-150 hours. The rest of my education was science, math, english, etc. Thats what a liberal arts degree *is*, essentially.
But heres where it gets really messy. What do you think happened in those 50 hours that supersedes the 18 years that came before it? Was I self taught until I wasnt? Are they mutually exclusive, like youre either a virgin or you arent? Am I somehow more self taught than someone much younger, who grew up with youtube tutorials and had access to great books or nice supplies? Its a weird thing. Im not embarrassed or ashamed because I didnt go to art school. Or because I did, depending on your definition. Its just a weird thing because the question always leaves me with a sudden awareness of how the person asking perceives art school.
Because without a doubt, theres a benefit to art school. But its not in how it affects your artistic ability. Art school *does not* make you a better artist. And that art school community is warped. Its like a cult, and you all drink the kool aid. None of that is the benefit of art school. The true benefit is the things you learn peripherally to art. Its learning to work when you feel uninspired. Its learning to deal with the most infuriating clients or bosses (by way of professors). Its learning to give criticism, and take it. Its learning time management and deadlines and decision making. Its learning to compromise. Its learning to not get invested, while simultaneously learning to go all in. And thats all stuff you can learn on your own, but art school makes you learn it in a couple years.
I think the question makes some artists uncomfortable because of those preconceived notions people have when they ask. If someone asks me, I dont want a yes or no answer to mislead them. Its like being asked where I'm from. In order to tell you the answer, I need to know what youre *really* asking. Because where I was born, where I was raised, where my family lives, and where my accent is from are all different things. Does that make sense? Its a nuanced question that people arent even aware is messy.
Erin I don't agree that art school doesn't improve on your art, you learn stuff from teachers that u didn't know before like shading, how to pick the right colors that attract the eye, character design, etc but that's only knowledge I know from watching lavendertownes videos and how she says she improved after art school so this mostly applies to a digital art major and is only in her experience. I've never actually been to art school so technically I'm self taught for now but I'm too young to go to art school right now but want to go someday
Despicable Penguin you've misunderstood. I said art school doesnt *make* you a better artist. 100%, you can become a better artist at art school. Loads of people do. Likewise, you can not get any better. Loads of people do that, too. Its completely possible to go to all the classes, sit through all the critiques, listen to all the lectures, do all the assignments, and not get any better. Improvement is self-determined. You get better because of you. Art school is just an environment. A weird, insular, competitive environment. An artist who improves while in that environment put in all the same effort and time to improve as an artist who improves while not in art school. There are, hopefully, good teachers who can help you acquire skills faster, but they can't just give you those skills. And you'll have more bad teachers than good, just like any other school.
My point is that people thing you go to art school and get better. Like they're contingent. Like it's "it you go to art school, then you will become a better artist". But that's not true. The act of going to art school means you'll study art. It means you'll do assignments. It means you'll learn to give critiques. It means you'll hopefully learn to take them.
But any improvement you may or not make there, that's all on you. Your teachers can't make you better, your assignments can't make you better, your degree can't make you better. That's all you. Period. It always just you. No book, or art supply, or video, Or school, or anything will ever *make* you better.
you're perspective is interesting
I totally agree that this question is a minefield. Its like if I am self-taught when it comes to drawing anime/manga while I went to an art school for graphic design where I learnt all my skills specifically related to graphic design there, ie computer softwares, designing for an audience, how to get involve in a paid project, etc. My drawing skill is still self taught while my technical skill was taught by art school, how would I define yourself then? Half self taught half taught by art school?
Another thing is some art school doesn't 'teach' you. They can be giving you prompts and crits and all those stuff and never teach you a single skill. But you'll still finish your degree with an enormous amount of skills and think that that art school was amazing. This is because they make you to look into things yourself. Its like if you want to make a puppet for a project, the teachers won't teach you that cause they want you yourself to look into how to make a puppet yourself. You will end up doing a whole ton of research, testing and failing another whole ton of times while you learning a lot along the way. Your teacher might suggest you ideas with which color they think looks better, which pose the puppet would show more characteristics, but you're still on your own. Then, would you consider yourself self taught or taught by art school?
I think if the ppl asking these sort of question be more specific, everything will be much clearer. if you're asking to know should you go to art school or not, then specify that. if you're asking to know where they learn their skills, then specify that.
I’m a fine art major at a university, but I’m learning 0 new technical skills so I’d consider myself self taught. All my instructors care about are abstract or modern pieces with a lot of shock value. I have learned close to nothing about what I want to do and it is super frustrating. It’s less about being embarassed about doing whatever for me because skill is skill, but rather I don’t think my university deserves the credit of saying they’ve taught me anything valuable to my work.
Yikes. That'd be frustrating as hell, and would piss me off greatly. Please know that not all art programs or schools are like that. Have you thought about transferring to another school?
When I hear self taught I think of the beginning of the renaissance when those artist had to study the human body to an extreme and then had to make new methods of drawing because before in the dark ages they had art but It wasn't so anatomically correct
As someone who is self taught, there is a part of me that feels not ashamed, but worried, and another part that feels grateful. For instance, I'm grateful that I didn't wait until I was an adult to pursue art lessons, because I had this thought that I need a professional to teach me all the tricks. Its been a HECK of a struggle, and i'm still no where near where I want to be in art, but I'm glad I started when I did. I've started my own youtube channel (I swear i'm trying to plug it, but its relevant I swear!) and so many worries come up. Mainly its the criticism other art youtubers go through in their comments or off site, stuff like: "you're doing the same old art! you're not improving!" or recent stuff I've been seeing is the "all these art youtubers are mediocre!" garbage like that. I've mainly started my channel to actually see my growth, but I worry because my work is obviously not to the level of others better artists, its going to be seen as someone desperately trying to become "youtube famous" or some crap like that.
You always raise some thought provoking topics. Art school gets a lot of bad rap from many RUclipsrs I think.
I totally agree! It depends on how much work and time you put into your art. You shouldn't have to feel shame in being self-taught or going to art school. I believe that art can turn out any way depending on the amount of effort goes into it. It's good if you can go to a school because there are more opportunities to make connections and also there are more resources available. If you cannot go to a school (depending on your situation) that's okay. We're in an age of technology and information. It's possible to learn on your own and still have a great outcome.
I'm actually in my 1st year of art school and it's quite nice so far. I feel like I'm really building up my work ethic. I hope this is the right choice for me. Have a great day! :)
You’re skill as an artist is directly linked to your work ethic. Period. Regardless of how you learn. I was a high grade student in high and was always busy working on school work, clubs, and volunteering. Now I’m going to college at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) our quarter just started a couple of weeks ago but I’m already able to spend all my time either drawing or studying some aspects. I am not easily motivated when I have free time, I usually default to watching shows or RUclips or playing video games (usually because I was stressed from being so busy), so being in a school setting helps me actually put time into learning about and creating art. I am a freshman so I’m still doing core and am not into classes specifically pertaining to my interests, but even just two weeks in I’ve had lots of opportunities to grow as an artist and meet other artists. I feel motivated and like I have a path set out before me that I can carve however I’d like which is very reassuring. My experience is limited but honestly I think it comes down to what you want your career to be in and how available connections are to you. There’s a lot you can learn about illustration online for free, but when things get more technical, for example when it comes to animation or something, then it’s gonna be a lot easier to be in the industry if you’re formally taught because there are so many aspects to it. I grew up in a rural town farming community, the only other artists I knew for a majority of my 18 years there were my friends and peers at school (and there were only like 4 of us tbh), I had no connections outside of my town (and honestly outside of my friend group). If you live in a large town or city then you probably have more access to other artists and possible internships/training/work. Of course, this line is blurred by the internet and social media connections, but making friends with success online artists can be very difficult, especially the more popular they are. For me art school is a pretty equal split of being taught the more technical aspects of art and just meeting other artists who have connections. I can’t speak for any school other than my own, but most, if not all, professors at my school are coming from working in the industry or being successful freelancers and so they are a wealth of knowledge and links to the art industry. Then, it’s whittled down to the money aspect of course. I’m lucky, my parents have always supported me as an artist and are helping pay for me to go to college, but not everyone has that luxury. There isn’t a hard yes or no answer for whether you should go to art school or not, it depends on your background and ambitions for the future, but discussing it certainly helps people at crossroads decide who’s experience aligns with their own and can help them see what might be most useful for their own path, so thanks for making this video Lemi! It’s an important topic in the community that I feel like is always expressed with a lot of bias towards either side, but you did an excellent job presenting it objectively.
I just realised art school cost money in other countries. Woah. We get it for free here.
I don’t exactly think art is shameful, it’s a way of just showing your creative side
LaurenTiare She never said art was shameful, she’s talking about “the journey” you can take to make your art. She’s discussing the topic many artists face and it’s “is being self taught or going to an art school shameful”
Chara actually I was referring to the thumbnails title, and making my view from that to express my opinion from my own experiences as an artist, believe it or not lol, I’ve been doing this for 16 yrs...and I’m self taught so I’m looking at it from what I have gone through and what lemi has gone through as well, I listened before I commented this actually
For the most part, I'm self taught. I did eventually go to art school, but I feel like it really isn't for me. It could just be me, but I felt like the things I drew just weren't good compared to the people around me. Not to mention that there are somethings that you're expected to know, but I had never done before. Yeah, I did make progress, but I still can't get over that thought. At the moment, I'm taking a year off to do some self studies and see whatever kind of tutorials I can find online before I go back to school.
I'm self taught as if now, and I'm proud that I got as far as I did without taking any art classes (not as an elective or outside of school), but in the future I would love to get involved in a class or another kind of art community so I can grow even faster than I have so far. So I'd be proud to say so if i'm the future I could say both ^^
Beautiful artwork! :D
I watched Balee Jae's video about her sketchbook slam challange an you commented you were getting married a week after her. Congratulations!
Thank you so much! You remembered!
I had this one classmate that saw me drawing in class and said, “Do you go to art school or take art classes?” And I said no. She was really shocked, like REALLY SHOCKED. I told her not all artists go to art school or take art classes. And I’m just shocked that she thought all good artists go to art school
i have never been to art school. the only art classes i've taken were the ones in public grade and high school, which only taught me that i despise drawing self portraits and still-lifes lmao. i am self taught. almost every 'adult' (referring to people noticeably older than i am, though i'm also an adult) who sees my art tells me that i should go to art school. i find it rather annoying that they assume the only way to get better is to go to art school, and i'm rather proud of being self taught, though i don't think there's any shame at all in going to school for it, either; i just don't like school, and i learn things better on my own. i have no intention of going to art school for the above reasons. and i hope to be a "professional" artist in that i hope to make a living off of my art in one form or another, but i don't have a desire to work for a big company or anything like that.
I can totally understand a younger person asking if I went to art school or not- like you said, to decide what education path is right for them. I usually question people why they ask, so that if they do have further questions they might be more motivated to ask them.
However, I have seen older people ask the same questions, and it always feels like a loaded question. It feels like they use it to make a judgment on my character or my artwork somehow.... And baseless judgments too either way, because I'm sure education suits some people more than others- and there are so many factors at play as to why somebody may or may not go to art school.
I've had a number of older people see my work and tell me "You should go to art school!" Or "When are you going to art school?". I understand the intention behind it, but to me it doesn't come across as thoughtful to so easily suggest somebody take on such a huge commitment. I wouldn't go up to a dog groomer and tell them they should go to Vet School just because they like working with animals. But once again, it's just another case of people not fully understanding art careers/art in general, and a miscommunication built upon this.
I guess this is just another case of people dropping the egos and the stigmas, as per usual. All that matters is the outcome. It matters not if you taught yourself or were taught by the best, the way I see it, it always just ends up with people describing themselves in such a way as to justify why they arent quite happy with where they are at the moment/justify why they're better than literally everyone else in the room (in their head, anyways). "I was only self taught, so im not that good", "I was ENTIRELY self taught, i trained for 11 years in a taoist monument on top of the himalayas in isolation drinking nothing but yak milk, look how cool I am" or "I went to artschool, so clearly know more than you all" are the only times i hear any artist bring this up outside of if a general member of the public asks them the question for pretty much the reason that you stated in the vid. I think most good artists genuinely dont care, lol. People should perhaps view it this way, as long as youre either satisfied with the final outcome or know how to improve, all of this stuff shouldnt matter that muchl. The only reason im studying a degree is both to push my own learning, as i know im a tad lazy if unfocused at times, and to create a stronger platform to advertise myself to studios (putting it all on cv, building a stronger focused portfolio than i would be able to on my own, ect). But thats just my two cents, lol
This, so much
I'm a 14 year and I actually haven't thought about this subject in a long time. This year I just started art school and this type of school u have to audition for it so ofc before that I had claimed myself as a self taught artist. However when I did claim myself as a "self taught" artist I did feel a sense of pride. But now haveing started art school I do find that I have learned a lot of new things that I would have never did on my own. Overall I feel as if either way being self taught or school taught it all matters on how the person feels towards. Whether they love it or not.
Also great video Lemia!! Rly made me think! :D
I was one of those cringy fucks who started out drawing Sonic and anime... -_-
Thankfully I'm so much better now tho...
Moriko Megu But you were still making art regardless of what it was! When I started I drew celebrities, now I find that boring af but it was still art xD
Moriko Megu I understand the Sonic thing, but how is anime art "cringy"? If you look on the Internet, you'll see that some professional artists make a living from drawing anime. I don't understand why some people consider anime cringy..
Mystical Myst The issue wasn't anime itself, my current style is what's considered anime. The issue was that I was one of those cringy weebs who drew really bad anime shit as well as Sonic. I of course still do both today because I am a big fan of both, but my work today is no where near as bad or limited as it use to be...
Moriku Megu Ohhh, I get it. Sorry!
Moriko Megu i _still am_ one of those cringey fucks who crappily draws sonic 😂
For me, since I’m only 11, a lot of people have told me my art is good. I think when I do these drawings, I don’t make myself uncomfortable with the shapes and flaws. I would be happy. But in class, I always hear in the room with people saying that they’re horrible at drawing. It makes me uncomfortable. And people do that more when they hear it. I’m self-taught, and I look at art online and I adore it. I sometimes compare but I have taught myself to never say that I’m bad. I just think, I need to change that and that, but if I don’t know how to, I look online for examples. I never push myself too hard because when you are someone who draws more simple but wants super realistic within a day, they hate the outcome. So I remember, go easy and don’t hurt your mental state. And love yourself and what you make. 😊
i love your art so much
I was searching for the right sketchbook for the right medium and found this video. Your statement "a self taught artist has to spend a lot of time researching things ".. this really relates to me lol. I'm a self taught artists and m neither proud nor shameful about this. I just draw what I love and when I don't understand a thing I just look up to the Google and RUclips to find my own answers. And yeah that probably takes me a lot of time to find it but doing so I do gain a lot of informations other than the specific topic I was looking for(like how I find this video). And I love how I gather information about art in this way.
And your drawing in this video is so beautiful.
I was self taugh HHHHHHH NO WONDER IM BAD--
haha no you just need practice ;)
My boyfriend's little sister used to refuse to let anyone show her how to draw anything because she only wanted to be "self-taught". I had to explain that everyone gets a bit of knowledge from other sources. You can be self-taught and have watched RUclips videos or used references (which she also refused to do). But after I cleared that up, we sat down for an afternoon and I tried to help her draw faces and bodies and hair and anything else she wanted to know. I'm by no means an artist, but being able to share your knowledge with someone is a great feeling.
We also made her a mini DnD campaign and she loves to draw her Tiefling Warlock and pet hawk.
I'm a middle school artist, been complimented about my not-so-'talent' from second grade. I'm a traditional kid, using pencils. Never had anyone to teach me how to do so besides my school art teacher until I was in third grade, which was just when I started watching speed paints. I took small 'tips' from those videos. I was in 5th grade when I found my current art-sensei. Her speed paints of traditionalism were similar to how I drew- with colored pencils. I took her idea of using a black pen instead of a pencil as an outline. Other than those two idols, I have been completely self taught. It kind of hurts my soul to be doodling in class and have a kid walk up to me. He'd say, "Hey! What instructor do you use?" I'd respond with, "Self-taught." The kid would frown and go to a friend group and start talking. Later, the group would come and say, "Why'd you lie to our friend?" I'd say nothing and just look at my doodle paper until they left. It was depressing for me, someone who'd been teaching herself to draw for more than four years, just to be labeled as a kid who went to an expensive art school and is just bragging. I don't brag about my art. I really don't.
It's nice to see people who think the same way.
Thanks for reading this far if you really did. - w -
lol you just did brag about your art
N-no, I didn't try to. I tried to make it seem as not-braggy as possible. I tried to make a realistic comment about what's happening in my current art 'career' if you can even call it that. But, uh, sorry if it seemed I was bragging.
That's sad
Being self-taught, in my opinion, isn't a "talent", friend.
A.N. Lemnwi why?
This is a really good topic!
As a homeschool graduate, I never had any formal education relating to art. My first sort of "teaching" was my super incredible idea of laying a piece of paper over a picture in a book, and tracing it. And that's when I was like 6. After that I started getting books from the library, Most of which I only picked up the smallest tips from. I've only had access to drawing tutorials online for the last 5 ish years (thanks to different platforms to share art with becoming increasingly popular). So to answer the question, yes I am (99%) self taught. The only time I look at tutorials is to make sure I have anatomy right, or to make sure I'm using a new tool correctly.
But, I would absolutely love to take formal classes to expand my knowledge of techniques and styles.
It's kinda funny for me because I've been self taught for years and now I'm applying for art school xD
And honestly I don't understand the whole shame&pride thing :/
+RoRi DooDles It's the way others make you feel about it. Some people think art school is more prestigious and others think being self taught is more remarkable. Or vice versa when someone puts you down about how you learned. Lol
So it's kinda like they'll be mean to u either way xD
@@louisaamabel1618 I think people try to put down art school because some have had bad experiences (which happens no matter what field your in, it's not art specific, so that's not a good argument) or because some people act so prestigious and prideful about it that it makes people want to hate art school. Of course there's that awkward 3rd group who's ego is too big to accept the criticism and actually learn something out of it, in which case art school would be useless because they aren't trying to learn.
Truth is, there's nothing wrong with art school. It's a perfectly valid resource, just like online tutorials and classes, and you are a perfectly valid artist who works just as hard whether you use it or not. People just need to get over the art school/"self-taught" stigma completely, if your art is good, your art is good, and that's that.
It is always a hard decision, where or how to study.....Very good topic to discuss, compare and possibly help a young/starting artist to decide :).... Also I really like how the colors in your illustration turned out.
Does being taught by RUclips count?
No as long as it's not a face to face thing using the internet for learning how to draw is considered self taught
I agree that technically no one is self-taught since we always learn from somewhere. But I consider someone self-taught (including myself) if they never had an instructor. Meaning, you never have someone, either in person or online, who is dedicated for some time (such as a class) to teaching you art. I have never taken a class in art or had any instructor. But in a way, RUclips was my art school since I always turned to it whenever I wanted to learn something (and thus am now trying to contribute to the wonderful community that taught me). But that is different than having an instructor because as you mentioned, you have to figure out WHAT to learn rather than having someone who tells you and gives you a way to do it.
I've never been ashamed or prideful of being self-taught. I just am lol. I've never felt limited or that I can't "get good" because of it, nor did I feel like I'm on some pedestal because I learned on my own. I also don't think any lower or higher of people who have taken classes or went to art school. They just are.😉 Sorry for the super long comment😅
I personally never will go to art school, and I hate it when people say I should go or if they ask me if I have gone.
Maybe what you say is right for some people that they are just curious, but for the people who have asked me, they were trying to see if they should validate my skill as if I HAD to go to art school else I could NEVER draw that good (not saying I'm amazing but people who see me stuff seem to freak out as if they just discovered the lost city Atlantis). I also hate it when they say I should go to art school, like...all I hear when you say I should go to school is wow you need help. I know they mean the opposite but it just sounds so wrong to me. I am happy with myself to not be in art school I find it more impressive because then people can't dismiss it as if I went to school so ohhhh that's why, you had to be taught and had your hand held. People don't know how art school works generally, they just know school, you're dumb and you get smart by going. Not to offend anyone who goes to art school! if you like to go or wanna go that's cool! :3
Parasol Mushroom Art You uh, you got some issues to work out there, bud.
Parasol Mushroom Art That is one edgy comment.
Why should going to an art school dismiss your artistic skills? lol that's really dumb LOL you really think art schools are sooooo easy to get in lmao
Elly Kim that's not what s/t/he(y) meant at all. s/t/he(y) meant that people think that s/t/he(y) isn't as good at drawing if they went to art school kind of? like that it was easy for her/him/them and not as impressive if they went to art school. you know what I mean?
Going to art school is not easy I think doing both is just fine and not shameful at all but doing art in art school should not be invalidated. Both sets of students are as hardworking as each other. You don't enter art school and ur good. You actually have to work in your own time too get better. I think doing both is amazing and it really shouldn't matter.
I used to go to art/ craft classes in china as a young elementary school kid and I was totally bad at it. However I found it really fun! I also went to a kindergarten class also in China that taught "Chinese calligraphy art". I didn't like being taught in a class like that. I also had another class that taught me sketching and crafting during summer breaks. I never quite enjoyed being given an assignment like art is a homework. I wanted art to be fun, a hobby, and I just decided to self teach myself. I would draw whatever I like and practice sketching and anatomy every now and then.
Hi I am a self taught artists
Hi, Me too and I love it ! :D
Neal Hogan I didn't know one person could be more than single artist. My life has been a lie.
I was in an Illustration class for two years, and I do feel proud when telling people that I'm an educated Illustrator, because that sounds more fancy than just "I like to draw". And some people respect you more if you have some sort of education.
I also really loved the school and the class, and I learned soooo so so much, so that's also part of the reason I'm proud of it.
Though, I have also improved a lot after I graduated in 2015, mostly by watching art videos on youtube and doing drawing challenges on instagram.
Great and interesting video, I've never really thought much about the topic, but I think I agree with you for the most part!
vat
im first
what
(or close to being first?)
second, you still get that silver medal !
yessss i got a sliver medal
Verrry Closssse! 😀 good job!
:')
I'm self-taught, and I'm really proud because of how far I am and how much I've improved without any professional artist's help. I think you should be proud of your art no matter how you learned to do it. Self-taught or school-taught, you should be proud of how good you are and how far you've gotten.
Self taught is way better :), and I love your art work
Shadow Warriors ProductionsYT
Did you even watch the video? She was basically saying that both are equally great and it's rude to call one better.
While that’s your opinion, you should remember if someone wants to spend money to go to an accredited art school to get a degree, then that’s their right and they shouldn’t be looked down on because of it.
lol you've missed the complete reason for this video nice job
damn you must be blind
Ish Shadow me too did you draw that on your pic it's cute😊:still did you see or hear the video????
I know I'm late to this video discussion, but I'm so glad you made this video. I am always so afraid to tell people that I'm not going to college for art and prefer to develop and study on my own.
I'm 16 and I'm a self-taught artist (I'm homeschooled so I've never been to a class of any kind).
I've always drawn but I got my first sketch book and art supplies when I was 11 so I could start actually trying to improve.
I've had people ask if I've ever taken a class and sometimes I feel like I'm set back by never having had a professional guide me in my drawing. Although I am very proud of being self taught too. People are always shocked I can draw like I can without having been taught.
I'm not planning to go to an actual art school but I'm considering art therapy because I love art but I also want to help people and I think it would be cool to be able to do both :)
I loved this video as I love all of your videos! I love hearing your point of view on these art topics because you're always informed and honest. Great job! :D
I like the way you use your colours for shading and creating depth.
As about your subject: I had formal training that would fit in your definition of 'art school' and I think that 'self-taught' and 'formally educated' aren't opposite concepts. During any formal education you will typically get knowledge about history, concepts, methods and some techniques. But there will still be many things that you will have to find out for yourself. That you'll have to train yourself in. The presence of others who face the same situation, or have faced it (fellow students, teachers, professors) is a stimulating factor and also an added bonus to your own study process. But in the end we have to do the learning, we have to put in the work and we have to program our brains, our hands and fingers and so on to create...
I'm 22 and have been drawing for as long as I can remember, I've always said I was self taught but it's a great point that every artist learns things from other artwork from books people and anything else inbetween. I remember I had a big poster with dragons on it and the different types of dragons. I drew the dragons on the poster so much and started to branch off and twist things around trying to create my own neat dragon to add onto the poster. As I got older I started to look more at real animals and getting into semi-realism, then moving onto RUclips and watching speedpaints and how to videos. It inspired me to get into digital art. I honestly hated art class in my school cuz everything was so rushed I couldn't enjoy what I was creating, I ended up falling in love with ceramics class in high school and incorporate my my style into sculpting and how I paint the pieces I make. I'm proud that I've "taught" myself and I am so happy i have had the outlets to other amazing artists to help push me into trying new things with my artwork. There's no shame in being "self taught" or going to school for art. All that matters is that you enjoy and love the things you create and you're honest with the people who ask questions.
I actually agree with you on many points. I am self taught atm but i really want to go to art school yet I don't know if it is worth the time or money. The problem is everyone thinks that you're not a "real artist" if you didn't actually go to art school.
Wonderful video, I'm a retired art tutor and I found academic art classes were all about others art. You are just as much an artist as anyone whom went to art school. The best thing I learned in college was to use my eyes in a more intense way to discern details and shadeing and the critiques helped as much as competition. I feel you have more freedom of expression than those with closed minded art educations. Although many good artists come from the commercial art community, few go on to make it a life's calling. Take care and enjoy yourself. Blessings
loving this piece of artwork Lemi!
personally I think that both paths have their pro's and con's. Art schools/art classes tend to be quite restrictive in the styles or subjects that they "allow" the art students to use for their schoolwork, but generally artists are commissioned or do work for a studio and dont wind up having much say in what they draw anyway. but art schools/classes also give more reliable constructive criticism and one on one support from a tutor. "self taught" artists tend to focus more on drawing what they enjoy and in a style that they like and feel comfortable with, so they dont get the push to experiment and try different styles and subject matter. self taught artists also dont necessarily have the most consistent or constructive criticism of their art, so might find it harder to know HOW to improve their art.
id say im mostly self taught, though i did spend a year on an art based course (focused on the gaming industry) and i didnt find it useful in the slightest, and felt that the improvements i made within my art in that time, i would have made whether i had gone or not. however, i do want to save up to take part in Adam Duff's online mentorship at Lucidpixul, because i feel i would stand to gain a lot from it in terms of technical skill improvement. it cant solve my issues with procrastination or motivation though, those i will have to work on myself xD
I'm a junior in high school and everyone always asks me if I'm taking an art class at the school, you know like as an elective, and people are always surprised when I tell them that I'm not. I can't stand being told what to draw, or what style to draw in, or how often I have to draw, and I can't fathom getting graded for my artwork. I took a local art class at a studio because my mom got me classes one year for my birthday, and I hated it. All we did was still lifes and the class was 2 hours a week, which meant I had to do a 16 by 20 piece in 2 hours or I would loose my reference. It was extremely stressful and it wasn't fun at all. It also felt like such a waste of money. I do still lifes for free every day by just drawing things around the house, and the teacher wasn't really focused on teaching us, she would just kind of have conversations with us, ask what song to play next, or say something like "Good job, keep it up." The last day she let us draw whatever we wanted and when I drew my more cartoony style everyone made fun of it because theirs was more realistic, even though I was at a higher skill level than them. Also people are always assuming that I want to go to art school, but really an art degree is worthless. All that matters is your skill and your internet presence. Sure art school can help with connections, but there's nothing there that I can't learn by myself.
I'd like to think that I got a bit of help with the only 'art school' I went to - which was a summer camp for animation for teens. We were taught the basics of drawing (line of action, basic shapes to help guide through a structure) and it indeed was very encouraging to remember to keep up those habits which I still use. But right after that everything was self-taught. I'd like to think just like you mentioned on your video that both are valid methods - it just all sums up to the person working hard for it. Still, I do ask the same question to other artists I meet if they went to 'Art School' just to find out if they feel they have benefited a good chunk of their skills (or rather perfected their skills) from said school. The more I hear about some of their schooling, the more I'd like to go to one someday just to learn something new that might not have been mentioned or shared over the internet. Thanks for sharing your thoughts :D
Btw, nice markerwork there :3 and I saw the additional gel coloring added to make the yellow pop out more. (I will try it out next time. Thanks! )
My art teacher isn’t even an artist at my school lol.
Beautiful marker art!
Warning, This comment is really long, uhh,but I liked your points!
I haven't been to art school and I focus on digital art. One thing I noticed is that sometimes I have a "language barrier" with some artists that went to an art school. I don't necessarily have words, somewhat in English (online tutorials, books etc.) but not in Finnish (my native) since that's the language used in the schools. When I had only done e.g. hand drawn frame-by-frame animation before, by myself, without really looking deeper into Animation as an art form/study subject itself (I basically just drew.), I didn't know things/words like "rotoscoping", "onion skin" or "tweening", the animation-language was "foreign", even if I had been doing/using all of those "on the go" and my hand had learned what to do. So I usually feel a bit "out of place" or "unorthodox", when talking about art stuff with people who have been to art school, and not in a cool way, I can't even be a pretentious hipster about it. :'-D
I think art school is a stool that helps you reach apples from a tree, but only if you're willing to reach for them yourself. "Self taught" is more like you first try reaching the apple, then jumping and then you build a stool with some instructions you found to help you reach the damn apples. I'm not sure what the apples are. Art goals, skills, improvement...? This is kind of how I feel, because personally I'm the type that learns by listening (and somewhat by reading), so I think in my case, I would benefit from someone giving me actual advice, even a teacher's monologue. And I don't want to imply that "ohh the art school students have it so easy! Everything is just given to them!" No! It's an opportunity the students have made possible for themselves, by themselves! I don't think there's anything to be ashamed of about that and it's still up to you to utilize anything you pick up in art school. Like, the stool for the apple tree is definitely YOUR STOOL and... Wow I should have thought this weird analogy through first...
I've just completed gcse art, in which I recieved helpful pointers from and learned the value of skill within art and might have even discovered which medium and variety of art I produce the highest quality peices of artwork in, although i'm still not entirely sure. I really enjoyed it despite feeling a little insecure when seeing other classmate's artwork which was better than mine. I'm going on to do art next year at college where i hope to try everything, be experimental and bold as well as build skill for what I already enjoy. Following that I plan to attend university and study art, I have very little knowledge of its curriculum at this precise moment but I would like to use the qualifications that these procedures bring me do obtain a job in the field of art. I don't know what yet. I would not be ashamed to tell people this, as I don't think it matters and I don't imagine they'd be particularly bothered, they have their own lives to worry about.
time vs money. I took an art class at college and it was just okay. i didnt learn much but i did enjoy the people around me. But not worth the money. It got slowly worse though, like they wanted a deeper meaning to everything when there wasnt any.
1st off, you should be proud of what you’ve accomplished. Your art. Is wonderful. I took a few classes years ago, which dint help me. Every time I would ask is there a better way to draw hair or the human form the answer would be, well just draw what you see. That was no help, I’ve learned more from watching RUclips than anyplace else. Still learning. I want to learn how to draw digitally without a glittering effect on the tablet, but I have to say I have not practiced much. I’ve been practicing the traditional route as is 3/17 and want to have a career as a character designer and children’s book illustrator/writer. I need to work hard at it because I don’t have a job right now, so praying and working hard to succeed. Will be getting my website up soon and am a member of SCWBI.
I've been self taught, for now. I want to go to art school but I'm not sure if I should stick to doing art completely. I'm not that great at art, but the artists on RUclips who have been to school are AMAZING, so as the self taught artists.
I've been to art school, i mean only for watercolors and stuff but i'm pretty neutral..
-I mean i'm proud to be in art school and that i have learned something that "maybe" someone who hasn't been to art school has been trying to learn for years. And have professionals look and help me develop my work.
-And ashamed that i had to let professionals teach me things like do this and that, and you know feel dependent, that i'm just paying people to teach me something one has been trying their best to perfect alone.. just the thought of "being dependent"
*but that's wrong*
Because whether we've been or haven't been to art school doesn't matter it's the 'how much effort' is placed to become as good as the artist your looking up on or just wanting to be better which is what makes you An Artist :)
Beautiful video and choice of topic Lemia!
I respect your opinions everyone, but i turn against them in my head
I have to take a test today afternoon, and i didn't felt like i can do it, i begin to watch videos about art and i started drawing faces and hairs while i listened to your vioce, i hated drawing "whole" humans i only drew parts like an eye or just a hair without face, now i completed 2 head in a row, i feel so satisfied (and i like my drawing, its not so common) and all my stress is gone, like we had a talk about art in a caffee or something, thank you so much, your videos are awsome, and i found your talking about art so relaxing like wow thats how i think i'm so glad i found your channel thank you and have a really nice day :)
So I'm 13, almost 14 and I am thinking more and more of what I'm going to do as an adult. I know, I have a ways to go, but I feel like somethings pushing me to start early. That something which I later found out was art. It doesn't shame me to tell people that I don't have plans to go to art school, and I'd like to be semi-self-taught. I say semi-self-taught because truly I use things like art videos and art books to further my skill. What really gets to me is if somebody says to me: "Oh well, you need to go to college." Especially when it's a family member. I feel it's okay to be self-taught or even semi-self-taught, and it doesn't make an artist more professional to go to art school.
What a bunch of gibberish! 😊 Love ur artwork btw it's so pretty. 😍
I started coloring then drawing but I taught myself to draw.. I look at others and take there ideas then turn them into something different, one of my friends told me "you don't copy all you and (my friend) does is look at my idea and turn it around."
Art school (to me)= something I can't do, because I don't want to and being told what to do is already a problem to me.
And I actually think that my cousin taught me drawing, my parents supported me and I took that support and made it into my drawings, I have art once a week and I hate it cause like I said listening to others and them telling me "this is how you do it" that kills me.
Great job/keep up the amazing work! :)
~Keep on inspiring~ :P :)
So far, I've been self-taught. I really want to go to art school, though, partly because of the materials. I really want to learn to animate better, but I feel hindered by my lack of animation programs. I can't afford Adobe Animate or Toon Harmony and even if I could, I wouldn't know how to use it. I really want to go to art school. I've never been asked if I'm self taught, but I always got the sense that a lot of people when they hear "self taught" they assume the person just isn't old enough to go to art school yet. That's why I think there's a bit of stigma around that.
I once told a kid I took art classes when I was six, he called me a fake and then said I was a horrible artist and the worst he ever met. It was embarrassing. But I do agree with all your points, he’s just a weenie.
I have never been to art school before but I draw on a sight and get many loves for my art and some mean comments but what I do for mean comments is I use them to help me get better.Some of my art I don't think is good and that I can do better at it but I have random people on the site I draw who help me improve and tell me truthfully if something can be improved and if so I try to improve at it.I have no shame of not going to art school and I have been thinking of going,but with my behavioral health it is hard to be around others in public.When the question is asked from me I say I have never been to Art school but have others who help me Improve and I am Willing to use people's comments to either improve or see if I like what I'm doing or if I see i want to change something.i love you and your videos so much♥️
In highschool, it was a public school, I took art all 4 years. It did teach me a lot about art. Just in general, not a particular style. I had all ready been drawing before highschool, which is why I even wanted to take art all 4 years of high school. But I definitely do think taking those classes did help me. They wanted me to not always rely on my manga style of drawing and branch out and do different styles, they didnt forbid me from drawing in my style but they wanted me to draw in different styles, and I felt that doing that helped me improve when I would go back to my style of drawing. Taking those art classes taught me more about the fundamentals of art that I didnt know beforehand that I can apply even today 5 years after I graduated.
So I feel taking art classes on highschool helped me out. If I never took those classes I’m sure I would still learn what I learned but I think it might have took more time. All in all, I’m self taught but art class in highschool did help me along the way.
I've contemplated going to school for specifically art. I went to school for video game art and animation and I learned some basics for color theory, photoshop and lifedrawing for two years. But besides that I am self taught. And before I went to college I had already learned a lot on my own. College mildly polished my abilities, but college itself didn't make me better. Now that I'm out of college I've still gotten better at my "style" and figuring out how I like to draw things. But art is still my hobby and over all I consider myself still self taught.
I like to draw what I want to draw because that's what inspires me to draw in the first place. Like you said the thing limiting me is my work ethic. I don't want to practice drawing people or scenery because I get frustrated really quick and just give up. And in turn when I DO feel like drawing those things I just can't, because I've never really practiced. Art school wouldn't help me with that if in the end I still don't want to work on those things. I think I can get better without going to school and spending all that money, just by changing my work ethic, biting the bullet and just practice stuff even if I don't want to, because in the end it'll help me improve.
First off, about getting a job at Disney as an artist. I went to San Diego ComicCon 2017, and watched a panel that included some headhunters in the art industry, and a producer from Disney. In that panel I found out they rely quite a bit on your online portfolio, and they don't necessarily look for the most awesome art out there, but the ability to improve continuously. They actually don't hire people right out of art school at Disney, and the producer (the one at the panel) who was hired as an artist at first was someone self-taught, he hadn't even done anything in high school for art. You will however, need an in, which is where if you find out the contact info for one of the headhunters, you can at least make them aware of your artwork but don't go job begging to them or they will ignore you.
Now, I'm going to compare this "Art school" vs "Self-Taught Artist" to the industry I major in. I have taught myself how to fix desktop computers and laptops. I know the limits of power supplies, USB1-3.1C, Intel vs AMD, Graphics Card optimization, HDD vs SSD, RAM DDR2-4, and more. I still run into places where the guys fail to mention when you need a power supply upgrade as you add hardware to your desktop computer, and these guys all tend to have the same thing in common: They went to college/University for their computer education. They actually knew less than I did coming out of formal education.
Continuing, many of the great artists in history were all self-taught, including ones who have only died in the last 100 years. However, you have a proportional amount of successful artists from formal education at the same time.
in the end, it really comes down to practice and commitment, more than what kind of education you receive, in addition to continued self-improvement. When you stop trying to get better, and explore new things as you achieve old ones, that is when you start to fail.
Whats funny is, ive been to college for art courses, and did art in highschool, but i had to teach myself EVERYTHING. Ive never learnt any skills in art classes other than how to format things. Ive taught myself absolutely everything ive learnt but where ive been just peovided the materials. Even in the course we just assigned something and we have to figure it all out by ourself. Im jelous of people who have actually been taught stuff in art. But to be fair, i have learnt a few techniwues in art college, such as sewing like how to use the machine, and this sort of ink printing thing, but everything i actually do, such as painting, drawing, using pens, scultping and animating (never been anywhere for animating) etc, ive taught myself absolutely everything since i was young, so i dont like to say i have been taught these things by schools when ive learnt this all throughout my life, it feels like im giving credit to people who havent given me these skills as i worked hard to teach myself these things.
I dont really class my course in general college as art school, but going to art courses has helped me link to the jobs.
If i never went to art courses, i would be at the same level in my own art, if not furthur in the things i wanted to achieve in as i cant draw the things i want to improve on because i have these tasks
even though this wasn't the topic of the video
this video helped me get a little less self-concuss
I'm a self taught artist and I would do art that people would tell me I should get out there and start selling, but I would be too shy and look down on myself because I was self taught, but realizing your self taught and your AWSOME it has et me out of my shell a tiny bit
Thank you.
i probably wont ever go to school, but art is more like a hobby and i do it in waves, right now i'm drawing alot but it'll probably stop after the week is over and i wont draw for another 2 months
I've been to art school but for animation and VFX. I've always wanted to be an animator, but after art school, I've kinda been discouraged and changed my mind. That's somewhat because of anxiety and how I felt about my school. I eventually graduated with a focus in Compositing, and I highly regret it. I wasn't really passionate about it and it reflects in my portfolio. I wish I had stuck with animation or some time of graphic design, where I have the passion. I think I was just so overwhelmed by all the talent around me and how my school tends to play favorites but that's everywhere. However, that being said, I am highly greatful that I went to art school and graduated it was a big accomplishment I wanted to achieve. If you really want to go to art school go! You'll learn a lot of stuff meet new people and become fully emerged into the subject. Though, if you don't want to go, don't. Don't let what others say influence your choices and don't force yourself to go.
Personally I had a bit of a messed up education and did a lot of "is this the right thing for me" ... and a whole bunch of going in circles. I have done hair dressing, graphic design and worked as a secretary before realising that choosing a career while so young is a stupidly hard thing to do. Your thrust into the position of, "this will effect the rest of your life" and for me that phrase did mess me up. I chose hair dressing out of sheer panic that I would become a bumm and live off of handouts (which is my worst nightmare).
After a lot of being lost, depression and anxiety I realised that actually just because in high school I was told that only real artists are those who paint fruit and real life (I am much more children book style) can be anything. I believed that... and in actual fact art is the only thing I really ever want to do because I love it.
I drew a lot while working as a secretary but ALWAYS hid it, and was ashamed for thinking art was a path. Until one day ... a random day where I was feeling particularly brave, I contacted my old graphic design tutor - who knew I liked illustration. And chose to go back to higher education to do 2 years on a HND for graphic design (but tailored around illustration) and finished with a BA top up uni course called... "Creative Design Practice". I did it all for a mix of reasons. Mainly because I was so scared to do anything, partly to be retaught Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop and InDesign and partly to meet like minded individuals in a similar situation.
I came out of it all wiser, stronger and ready to face the world. But most of all realising that there is no full stop to learning, there is always something to learn, a new technique to master, a new view to listen too. Going to an art school is only a stepping stone, and whatever route is taken should be a personal preference - one that will always grow :)
This is a subject that is deep with so many varied routs there is no right and wrong in my eyes. However I do know some fine artists who frown on anything other than what they know... But I just think to myself, "Well, that's their loss".
Thank you for this video :) You've done fantastically and I marvel at your independence and courage to go down the self taught route :)
I took a couple of art classes at a community college, but I am mostly self taught. It was such a great experience. I feel like I was able to refine the skill I already had and my professor was great at showing me what I could do better. I would suggest that before going to an actual art school, try the community college classes first to see how you like it. :D
I was self taught for 4 years and FINALLY took an art class. There is an awesome difference! I'm challenging myself now, and I get to see ways to improve and my actual level in art! I love it!!!
As a person who went to several art courses (following your definition, my highschool - in my state we choose type of school not subjects inside a generic school - the european academy of manga and some other stuff comic related... now i'm majoring in paper art and photo conservation and it is kinda still art related...) after a long period of time where i basically learned through experience (art youtube in my language was not a thing at the time and i could not understand english yet...). From my experience i feel like art school gives you theorical knowledge on the basis like colour, line, proportions, hot to copy from people, how to copy from an image, art history, good and bad references and a certain type of mindset that you do not have (or will get after an awful lot of time if you are self teaching yourself) so it is great. Also i see the trend where people think that works from people who are self taught (s.t. for short) is more valuable because "it's raw talent" ignoring the time spent studying of people getting a formal education... so you also see advices from some of s.t. people like keep practicing (which is terrible advice on his own) of see them being overly proud of a beautiful painting lacking tone/colour/perspective comprehension. the other way round you also see some kinds of art school people believing that because they are getting educated everything that they draw is perfect and correct and won't take criticism or even share their knowledge to someone who's willing to self teach but has no money to pay for art school (it can get quite expensive ngl - except for my high school, which was public and free, i was lucky to have supporting parents who payed for my other courses). which is both sad and wrong to me... :/ from this then you see people saying stuff like "yes i went but i still self taught me the whole thing" to distance themselves from the snobby art school kids... but it is also downgrading the importance of knowing that formal training art school only can give you, and that knowledge is a huuuuuge advance on knowing what you want to experience and how and knowing what you are trying will end up roughly instead of going blind in the huge world of art as a self taught.
I'm a sophomore in college and I recently changed my major to studio art because I'm not progressing as a self-taught artist and I want to make art for a living. I'm hoping that in addition to learning fundamentals that will help me improve the composition itself, I will be exposed to new mediums and techniques that will help me transfer the idea in my head onto paper or my computer screen more fluidly. I think that I've come a long way already being self-taught, but I also want to learn from people who are proven professionals and get feedback on how to improve, which is something I don't get from social media as I'm not popular at all
I'm going to college to study art next year and am very glad of it. To me it's worth it because art is my most enjoyable subject and I'd love to spend more time to become better at it so people can get the same joy out of my art as i do. I don't think there's any shame or pride in being self taught or art schooled its just (as said on the video) about how much effort you put in and how much joy you and others can receive from it.
I think the question is interesting, I don't think people should feel shame if they are self taught or go to school. I feel like one source of shame for some who goes to school also revolves around how expensive it is to go to a good art school and worrying if they will be judged and treated as "you paid to be as good as you are." Where as often I'm sure most followers ask because as you said, they are thinking about art school. I personally am currently in art school studding animation. I feel like art school being a good idea is a case by case situation. In my case I went to an engineering prepschool of sorts for middle and highschool with no art classes. I was set up for a life of doing that, and the kicker is I hate engineering. Art school was the right choice for me to make connections with other artist, to learn from masters of the craft, and to take myself farther then I could ever go by myself. But some people improve better on their own time. I do believe that being self taught is a thing, at least by the following definition concept. Sure there are tutorials and resources that can be found to help, but an individual must find them and research is part of teaching ones self. Like if someone bought several chemistry books then proceeded to learn and one day make amazing discoveries that weren't in the book that would be considered teaching themselves. I personally think the term should be applied to the idea of if someone goes to school for their topics or not. Though I disagree because of how I view the definition I do agree no one can get better by themselves, looking at other art, or tutorials, or reviving critique is important to improving, in a sense we are all taught and inspired by what is available to us regardless of if we go to school or not. So no one should feel shame for either because art and improving at it is very difficult and at the end of the day, everyone works hard for it.
I’m 11 at the moment and I haven’t had any training with my art. Well to be honest, I don’t have a choice. I’m not old enough to chose what I do in school because I’m only in year 7. And I hadn’t really thought about any other kind of, as you say, formal training. I plan to go to art school when I’m old enough but don’t really know where to look. I want to be an animator but I know that will take a lot of time and effort to get where I want to be. I’m getting a free program called fire-alpaca soon and are in the process of finding a cheap-ish drawing pad for my computer as my friend that draws has one and I fell in love with it the first time I used it!😍 one time, while I was sketching a picture of my sister in school, a girl I know asked me if one of my parents is an artist which made me fell so good inside: that was a few years ago and ever since I have practicing my butt off and that is when I started to imagine myself being some sort of artist in the future! What do you think I should do??? 🤔🤔
I did go to those art classes as a kid where teachers would sit with you after school and paint or draw. But I was a kid and had no understanding about it. It was all "DRAWING IS FUN! I'M GONNA DRAW A DRAGON!!" *doodles a weird gecko*
Years pass and I instead have books on art (specifically manga and cartoon styles) as well as looking at multiple RUclips videos which further help me (whether it's tips on drawing, how to draw _____, or even advice or encouragement)
I learn how to draw for myself by trial and error and going online for help, strangers/New friends often assume I've had someone taught me. Sometimes it doesn't rise up.
Before the video I never thought it to be discouraging to have been a self taught artist because "I like to draw, what does it matter where or how I learned it from?"
I also thought it'd be nice to go to art school, but sometimes it can be pricy as well as where to stay (I'm moving and the art school in the country I'll be in is a 5 hour drive from where I'll be staying) so maybe eventually I'll consider going to an art school, but for the time being, I'm okay and happy with the way I've learned to draw.
I've always felt proud of the fact I was completely self-taught before college, mostly because I taught myself how to draw in spite of having multiple congenital neurological disorders that sometimes make it difficult to even keep my food on my fork long enough to get it in my mouth. But, I'm not ashamed of my time in college art classes, watching RUclips tutorials, etc. in fact, I encourage people to observe, study and try out as many different mediums and different people's styles as possible so you can discover what you like best, are most skilled at and have the most fun doing.
I actually graduated from college with a BFA (Bachelor's of Fine Arts) in Studio Arts, and am currently working on a MFA (Master's of Fine Arts) in Illustration-Comics. I honestly didn't even know that Art Shame was a thing. You are totally right that it all depends on the dedication behind how well you are. I love to learn, and education is a very important thing in my family, so I was expected to go to college, and I am super proud of my degree (and my potential Masters). But I'm not prideful. It's not that I'm proud of the degree itself, but of the hard work I put into them. But I feel even with that, going to school really helped me a lot. I could tell the difference in my skills between only A FEW MONTHS of being in school. But even with all that hard work, I still find myself learning from outside sources (mainly RUclips tutorials).
And honestly, about the part where you said you knew people who went to school but felt like they didn't learn all that much, I put a lot of careful thought into the schools I chose, and I recommend anyone considering going to art school to do the same. For my undergrad, it was back in 2009 when doing a degree online wasn't that common, and I couldn't afford to move out of state. So I found a school near by that was known for a fairly good art program. And for grad-school, I signed up for a fairly big art school online. I've already accepted the fact that I'm going to be poor the rest of my life, but my yearning to learn out weighs my concern for money.
I'm self taught and for the first time I'm taking art classes now that I'm in college and I have to say classes really do help mainly because it feels like I have more support and motivation when there are other artists around me who I know are just as passionate about what I am- as a self taught artist that is something I was always paranoid about- things like does this really look good? or am i just blind and cant see what's off or feeling like drawing may not be worth it because I'm so alone and not able to share it and get feedback, but now I feel like I can rely on my classmates to give me critique and seeing their work also hypes me up- it also presents new networking opportunities. I do really think if you are passionate about art as a career regardless of if you were initially self taught or been to an art school prior then art school/college is 100% a great option and totally worth it
I go to art school and love that I go here. One of the main reasons for doing so was because I know if i had gone to a normal college or majored in something other than what i did (illustration) I would find it hard to make time to even do work at all! In a way though I do feel bad about going to art school because I feel like there's such a bad stereo type about it. Every time I tell someone outside my college I feel like they'll think im going nowhere or that I'll never be able to live off it. Itys certainly unfortunate to think that way but it does happen sometimes. Loved the video and the drawing by the way! Feel bad im never around anymore D:
i feel the people who say, "just cause i went to art school, does not mean i did not put as much effort" although true there may people who are just defending themselves, they may also be trying to encourage aspiring artists to work harder for there goal.
i also feel your point about people in art school being exposed to more types of art all around them can make them better than those who do not have that is true, but saying it can make them better than a self taught artist with the same work ethic and ect can be argued. Due to the internet and other sources, people are being exposed to many types of art, and if your involved in watching streams or videos, you can learn techniques, styles, and fundamentals from what you see around you.
one last, kinda silly thing, the point your friend made about no one being self taught, well i say, what about the first person to ever draw, being the only one to ever draw, he had no one else to tell him how to do it, so he was self taught. haha
thanks for reading :3
As far as the term self-taught I see it as synonym to "I didn't have any academic training, I researched stuff on my own and learned form it" whereas academic training stands for "I had a person or multiple persons that gave me instruction and constructive criticism as a way for me to learn the trade, they also gave me literature to further my knowledge on my own. I was guided towards improvement"
I find it fascinating that it matters to people these days whether they went to art school or not. Look back at the great masters of the past and ask yourself how many of those went to art school? I didn’t go to art school and don’t feel bad about it. I know people who did go, and they had their individuality crushed out of them and they came out like little clones. I think things may be better nowadays (I’m talking 40 years ago) but art is such an individual thing and if you can express yourself without formal tuition, that doesn’t make it any less “art” than the work produced by those who have been to art school.
My hubby and I watch two art competitions that they put on TV each year (landscapes and portraits) and it annoys me intensely that every year, they have the same judges, and we can predict from the outset which works they will approve, and which they will reject. We always say they go for the “daubs” lol! Someone who has painted a portrait in the style of (and every bit as good as) an old master, is rejected as being too illustrative, despite the fact that they have clearly got great skill, and have achieved a superb likeness of the sitter. I would like to see different judges each year; it would be most interesting to see which artists come out on top. It’s such a subjective matter. Also, being judged for your work (either in a competition or at art school) can be very crushing, because your art is an expression of yourself, and you can feel rejected as a person if the teacher/judge doesn’t happen to like your style.
So - after this rambling, I’d say, if you want to do art, just do it. Enjoy it. Never mind what anybody else thinks.