Many people out there, especially within the decade mark of Social media, has been “working” harder and harder to get more likes, reposts, follows, and all these vanity metric based things. It’s really no new issue here in the art or creative scene really. One might have to grind out an absurd amount of content to get somewhere, and even then…very few might notice, let alone care, and helps you getting somewhere. One can make a series of comics, pieces, and any body of work for everyone to see and consume for free. But the tab is one you by the end of the day.

It’s thankless work in a sense that people these days have such terrible attention spans and relies on shallow metrics to get a sense of “something”. A lot of people won’t see the hours, weeks, months, and even years of work you put in, and still not really care by the end of the day.

It’s thankless work, that the input maybe high, but the output and it’s yield is rather low.

It’s not for everyone, content creation, or trying out the social media economy.

It’s thankless work, but you might get skills, and lessons that will train you up for bigger things yet to come.

If you think that getting so-called compliments and praise from others just for the ordeal aspect of your work is worth investing the work in, don’t. Don’t think it’s worth it because it’s not.

What makes the thankless work worth it? Value, Results, Progressing. That’s what the thankless work is all about. Not about some shallow praise or fake internet social points and scores.

The mainstream is dying, or at least mutating to a point of becoming an inbred abomination. A shallow shell of the human species it has become due to over commercialization and exploitation.

But then again, there are the rise of Super/Hyper niche cultures. It might become a thing very soon with the rise of surface and deep digital and social credit surveillance. With the rise of the old-timer knowledge of notebooks and passed down generational skills and knowledge, just like apprentice and master.

Hyper niches is on the rise due to how saturated the internet and the globe is becoming. Being an exclusive will be the norm in certain sectors in order to persevere the art form and to prevent it from falling into other third parties.

Perhaps back in the last century, it was called Subcultures, but nowadays it has to evolve to meet the modern demands and pace of today. So the Hyper Niche has to be born.

It’s going in a direction where having a more closed tribal type of community to protect the individuals and small groups from over-exploitation will be common practice.

People these days, too hardlined. And lacking that other “ting” if you will.

Nuance of knowledge, and experience.

The idea that one hardline ting is the be all and end all of it is what causes the the whole project to fail. It’s lacking the nuance of how to use it in a tactful and useful manner. It’s all about the right tools for the right jobs, but with techniques in mind.

For example there is a claim to not use references because it’s akin to tracing, or some other outlandish claims in the drawing world.

But then again the more nuanced way would be to use tracing for technical work like animation and to experience one’s ability to “get” a style or how to draw in a certain way. While references is used to have some basic knowledge of where to start from when making something new or a branch of a ting.

The only serious problem with nuanced experience is that is does have some requirement to be applicable. namely experience and the ability to make good judgement-calls on it.

It’s like trying to teach humans to be human, there isn’t much “formal education” to help one’s in this post/topic.

It’s an age-old thing, people either blame the person, the tool, everything, but often miss out the key thing.

Sure, there is the saying for the right tool for the right job, but it’s all contextual.

Techniques and Intent.

Now this can apply to anything that needs skill and training.

Technology and the principles behind it tends to move the progress of things forward. But the thing is, people aren’t used to change at the rate the modern 21st century is moving at. Much of humanity could barely grasp the internet, and the previous generations are simply stuck in their ways for the worse in today’s context.

However, when it comes to craft works and doing things that require skill, the tools may have changed to an extent, or not so much, but the underlining fundamentals like perspective, scope of work, and even color theory still applies to making the work.

You still have to have taste despite using a stylus instead of a pen. You still have to practice the basics even if you have the latest hardwares and softwares with incremental updates to the bugs every few weeks.

Your discipline and routines to make the work still counts.

It’s that simple.

This term, right here might be one of the most underrated things.

‘See, people these days want to go for something rather exciting and sexy to work on and talk about with their colleges and peers. It’s thanks to the old-world social status effects. But in reality, the cost of working on these exciting, and often unprofitable businesses aren’t worth putting your life’s risk at. Unless you have the guts and sheer insanity to do so.

Boring and Profitable is common in the marketplace actually. People(or BOTS?) online sell simple digital products and services in scale and overtime these things tends to sell like hotcakes.

Why? Because it’s practical to buy a PDF package with all the templates and instructions to newcomers needing affordable concepts that is easy to grasp. It’s like selling toilet paper, no one “wants” it, but then again it’s quite needed.

So, consider this, what you think is a boring but profitable niche?

so, it’s been a while since writing about my actual art recently. Since the last major focus was on non-tangible abstract things right? Fear not, ‘been working on a few mockups of somethings. And despite their crude state, they might be worth investing in. Assuming I even care about these things for a bit more longer.

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Adding more digital layers to my sketches and work in general has been somewhat of a dormant thing, despite me having a library and tutorial in regards to them should the day come. Yes, there are things like photo-bashing, speed painting and all those digital exclusive techniques. But then again using principles and elements of them to add to my sketches gives a new kind of dimension and possibility to their otherwise basic and just physically limited traits.

adding textures from assets taken from the ‘net, able to give a material feel to the designs and just insist that they are from our world.

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Current ideas is to use this rediscovered digital techniques to make adequate mock-ups for possible clients and customers needing something that is fleshed out quick enough, but not overtly polished and taking too long.

Assuming my machine doesn’t kick the bucket and crashes due to the sheer amount of power needing to run the ‘shop and how rickety my machine is.

There are times, where that one thing, whether a project, or even a coveted item is well, compromised. Comprised? let’s define that term. Compromise is to be altered, tampered with or even just simple wear and tear if you have an old one sitting there.

But then again, it’s all about context of what is compromised, if you are working with scraps, cruds, or something just virtually salvageable. Just ditch it, learn to abandon the project or item and move on.

If you can learn from it’s mistakes and just build somethiing better than it, that’s a step forward.

There are cases of items or projects where it’s still salvageable, sure it’s might be not as pristine nor have its ideas hold up to the current standards, but then again, there are tales of these things being revived.

It’s all about how you want to move forward with it.

Define Expert. Is is some mere uninformed socialized pleb that claims about this and that because he has access to fragmented information and somehow makes remote sense to him despite the lack of logic?

Or a highly educated and experienced individual that has a ting for making sense of what they know and have done to others in a digestible method?

The thing with experts is that there is a level of “expert” that many people have achieved through their careers weather a few hours, weeks, months, years, or decades.

Experts are people you go to for apprenticeships, and being under their wing until you have enough to go on your own.

They are the people who have online workshops wheather paid or free with various degree of values and try to get as much from them. While creating your own edge.

Experts are people if you trust them and have the results to back it up are something that will get you somewhere faster than just doing it on your own.

These are the Experts you want to learn from.

But with the distruptive case of the internet, you get a new slew of “experts”

Wannabes and Con-Artists, folks that have big claims and belives that they have the so-called authority.

They tends to be “experts” alright, experts in cuasing trouble and disinformation for newcomers and established ones to iron out.

Traits of a real expert

Credible

Have experience

focused on one or two skills

Trust

These traits will be more rare and rare as the rise of Online trolls, Conartists, and Even BOTS have started to take over the online world as a too fast pace, if not they are one of the rogue founders of the public internet.

Experts-someone you actually trust, has rare and valuable skills, reliable, and experienced in their niche or field. Bonus points for being their apprentices.

Often times, you get only one in a lifetime indivuals that creates something unique and valuable.

Perhaps a few centries ago, VanGoh, Leanardo, and all the old masters are prime examples.

This centruey, It’s going to be Karl Karson, Kim Gun Gi, and many many others.

Many people will to emulate them, but in the end, they might match up. Close, mere shallow copies, they will try.

However, one could never be the next________. Since it’s just not how it works, talent only comes once a lifetime. It’s just how it is.

Royalty on the other hand, they can heirs and a long line-up. But in the end they are rigged for their own political games and what-not. It’s a bubble in their case.

Face it, you can’t be the next Jim Lee, nor the Next Bansky, but you can be yourself at best. You might not be as famous, wealthy, nor have any of their perks, but there are hidden costs to being them too. So, you should be care of what you want to become let alone wish for.