Dibujas por Pasión o por aprobación? - La verdad incomoda

Do you draw because you love it or because someone else is going to like it? Oh, friends, that question has been on my mind lately. And there have been people who have sent me messages asking for advice on how to make their drawing account grow, how do you get seen on YouTube, how do you get more followers and I say, girl, have you seen? I feel like lately, for example, I 've lessened the fact that people see me and everything, and look, 2 years ago that would have hit me really hard because I don't know if you remember that I disappeared, well, it goes along with this. I think social media has a lot to do with it, but also our mental health and how at peace we are with our art, with what we create. So today I want to talk about that and that's why I'm asking you this question. Who do you draw for? for you or to be seen and liked. And let's see, I mean, I don't want to be a hypocrite saying, oh, I don't care, of course it matters, but we're going to break that down while this video is playing. I started drawing a long time ago and I think when I was younger I didn't care, they gave me likes because I didn't even upload my stuff, you know? I mean, I just drew because it made me happy. I would come home from school and the first thing I would do was draw, I mean, it was like, well, eat, say I had to do homework, because the truth is I didn't do much homework. And I started drawing and making things and obviously that was something that made me full and happy and I didn't think about how many likes it would get or that they would see it or you know, right? I know that we always look for some kind of validation, like, oh, this is cool, oh, I don't know what. Or even when they give you criticism, but also constructive criticism so that you can learn from it, because back then it was just me and my art , you know? But then I started growing, YouTube came out, then Instagram and that's when I said, "Oh, girl, it would be cool to share what I do with other people." Note that since I uploaded my things, I do n't think I was afraid of uploading them. I don't think I even thought about it. It was like, "Oh, I'm going to upload it." Because I've seen that there are a lot of people who do think it's like, no, but they're going to say that my work is ugly and no, I mean, a lot of times it's like they just need to upload it and that's it and be happy. But well, that's when social media stopped appearing , I created my YouTube, I started my Instagram, I started uploading my stuff, and I think that's when something changed, you know? Because apart from the fact that I uploaded this, illustration is my job and I sell what I draw. I've worked for books or as a freelancer, but the main thing is that I do my things so they can be sold, right? Whether in notebooks, in whatever. But well, then I think that's when something changed and at first it was exciting, you know? I mean, at first when I was sharing my stuff it was like, "Oh, wow, people are liking it and commenting on it and blah blah." Fortunately, uh, I've hardly had any bad comments, they've been very few and as time has gone by I 've tried not to deal with, but to say, "Ah, okay, with the bad comments." But overall it had all been great, hadn't it? It was like, "Oh, wow, I love sharing my stuff." But then there was something at Inter that made me stop being myself. I don't know how to explain it, because when you upload your stuff you're already bound to the fact that I'm going to do something to get a like. If you have that thought, run away, as advice, run away from there. Because I had it. I started to have this thought like, "Oh, yeah, uh, yeah, so they'll give me a like to have this like a view and in my head it was like yeah, sure, I'm going to have views and therefore people are going to like my stuff, therefore they're going to buy my stuff, you know? So I think the approach I was giving it was like very toxic, which is still valid, right? I mean, it could be valid, but in my case it hurt me a lot because I didn't even draw what I wanted anymore, it was like I'm adapting. I started to change and that's when I said, I'm drawing what I want or what the algorithm wants. Or in this case more than the algorithm or well, I do n't know, people it was like, how do I reach those people? But at the same time it was like I don't even know if I want that audience to be my audience, because maybe and it was like well, there is an audience that likes to see, I don't know, um, how to draw faces, right? And I I said, well, but I don't just make faces, right? I do like, well, I like to do magical things, backgrounds and I was like, "Yeah, nevermind, I'm going to make a face so you like it." Oh, no, friends, all toxic. I'm opening up really strongly here with you because it's something I hadn't said, but I think it's necessary to touch on it because if there's someone out there who is thinking the same as me and is getting frustrated, for that person this video goes and they say, "Calm down, he won't let go of that, let it go, let it go, it hurts you." I don't know, I mean, I feel like there's a kind of silent pressure when you share art on social media that you start to notice certain styles, certain colors, themes and so on that get more likes and that 's exactly where I was going, right? It was like, "Ah, this ah, I'm going to do it." And it was like, "Check, but you don't even do that." And I was like, "It doesn't matter, because I want to try." And I mean, on the one hand it's cool because you can try a new technique, you can try a new, I don't know, style and even, I mean, I feel like if you take it as the way of learning it's cool, but there's a fine line where it becomes toxic and you no longer live in peace and you stop being you. And I think that's where I want to get to and say, "Never, never stop being you." I mean, well, maybe if you like, I don't know, drawing fruit and you see that you don't have any likes or you compare yourself with someone who makes, I don't know, faces and ah, that person is getting a lot of likes, I'm going to make faces. Well, maybe in the end, like me, you're going to feel frustrated because faces weren't even something you wanted to do. You wanted to make fruit, right? Or you like making fruit. That's exactly where I want to go. Oh, and let's see, I mean, I think we all want our work to be valued, uh, to be seen and there's nothing wrong with that because that's why we draw, to connect with people, we make art so that people see, question themselves, like it, connect with it, I don't know, right? But when you only draw thinking about whether others will like it , that's where I think you've lost the connection. You draw for yourself, you draw so you can give a speech, you draw to express yourself, and if it connects with someone else and they like it, that's super cool, but not that you're going to draw just so people will like it. It's cool, for example, when, I don't know, if you're watching a series and you connect with it and you say, "Ah, I'm going to make fan art of this." But you're going to make fan art because you liked it, not because you say, "Ah, they're making fan art, so I'm going to make fan art of this because this is what's popular." And you see, it's not that it's bad, because maybe you want to have views or yes, but I feel that if it's already diminishing you, that's when it's not cool anymore, where you're going to say, "Oh, it's tiring." And that's when I say when recognition becomes the driving force, art, I think, begins to feel like an obligation, I mean, because you're not even connecting with others anymore. I think the discourse of your art has perhaps been lost. At some point I asked myself, who do I want to please? You know? Me or an audience that changed every week, well, I don't know, today they liked smiley faces, the next moment they're liking fan art of X, hey, the next moment a new series came out and they're doing fan art and it was like, "Dude." And I realized that in this case I'm not into fan art. Well, I am into fan art, but not every week, you know? I mean, besides, I don't even have time to be watching series in my case, because there are people who might be tempted to watch series and say, "Oh, I'm going to draw this, I'm going to draw that." And they enjoy it. And everything is perfect because it's what they like and if it connects with someone else it's incredible, but not out of obligation. In my case, for example, I've been working since the beginning of the year on reconnecting with what moves me, because it's been a year since I came back, I was like a deer, like trembling when entering again into the question of illustration and everything, because it was like, I don't know, I don't know, I want to draw, but I don't know what. And I just think I've barely been connecting again with what I liked, which are magical beings, forests, magical creatures, that my illustration tells something. And it's something that I lost a long time ago and now I'm kind of connecting again. And that's also precisely why I wanted to do this redraw of my mermaid, because this mermaid, the first one I showed, I did it a long time ago. It was like a flash at that moment because right when I did it, I think I was also very lost and I liked it a lot because it was precisely what I liked, it was like I'm drawing like a scene and people interpret it what they want, right? Where is that mermaid? What was I going to do? Where is it? Blah blah blah. In terms of technique, I really liked how it had turned out and now I said, "Ah, I'm going to do it again, right?" Changing certain things that seemed strange to me. beginning. Uh, but yes, just right to reconnect with what made me happy. And right now, the last thing I've done in these last three months, the truth is that I've really enjoyed it and I've taken the time for myself, which is why I haven't uploaded videos either, because I don't want uploading videos to be an obligation and for it to be like, I have to upload, I have to upload, I'm going to upload because I like uploading videos, because I like sharing it with you, because I like uploading my process and not like sometimes I feel like it's like one prostitutes one's work, right? I mean, that I have to upload, I have to upload, I have to upload things and this and that and it's like, "Dude, calm down." Well, that's what I was saying to myself, right? Right now I'm working, for example, we released a coloring book, uh, new sticker sheets, I've released new illustrations and I've really enjoyed these last few months and I think I feel very happy to be able to reconnect with that and I wanted to share this with you. You guys, in case anyone out there is in this struggle or in this frustration, I want to tell you, "Calm down, nothing's wrong, find yourself." It sounds very idyllic, but yes, more or less it is. Ah, if you're reading this and you 're also an artist, I want to leave you with this question. So, why do you draw? Do you do it for yourself? Do you do it for external validation? But only for that? The truth is, I don't feel like this is talked about much sometimes. I don't know if it's like something where you say, "It's there," but nobody wants to talk about it. And to say that ah, yes, I upload and upload content and I also feel like it doesn't even get to enjoy it, but it's a process that, I do n't know, people have to go through to learn, I don't know, it happened to me, eh, I learned it the hard way, it wasn't nice, it wasn't cool, eh, I wouldn't do it again , or at least not for so long, because I could have stopped it a long time ago, but maybe my brat didn't make that connection, you know? And people would tell me, I mean, people Ale, well, some of you know Ale, always told me like, "But draw for yourself, draw because you like it, draw what I don't know what." And I was like, "Oh, but sometimes I, like, we need someone to see us and draw other things." So, no, no, no. My advice is, don't do that to yourself, girl, it's no good. But hey, who am I to judge people and tell them not to do things? I'm just telling you as advice, because I 'm your friend. Ah, well that's it, draw for yourself and if it connects with someone else you've won. Because at the end of the day, because imagine, I mean, I say, let's suppose that the internet goes down, that there's no internet anymore, who's left there, you and your art, you and your materials. So maybe it's a very grandma's advice , but just stick with that and work for yourself, enjoy it for yourself, do it for yourself and if that makes you happy and you share it, you've already won, you've already won because there are people who will connect with that without you getting frustrated so look at me. Obviously, always work with quality, with what you like, and give yourself that satisfaction, above all, because you are the one who makes that art, especially you because you are the one who makes that art. So, this is my sermon for the day. Oh no, that's not true, it's not a sermon, it's like something I've been wanting to share with you for ages. And let me know in the comments if you've ever felt that pressure to draw just because you like something. Or also let me know how you handle that, how you handle that frustration, how you handle drawing and not caring, or I don't know, I do n't know. Leave me here, I want to know everything you think, what has happened to you and well, leave me your experience here and that's it, you know, if you liked it, give it a like. If you liked my remastered mermaid, please give it a like too. And this time I didn't tell you much about what my mermaid was about, but you know, I made it with a wash and nothing, I mean, I think this time I recorded it just to be able to talk to you and that's all. I'm very happy to be uploading videos again. Oh, and I want to show you a little video of our online store showing how we're going to process your orders again, because we just opened it on July 1st. So if you want some stuff and if you're in Mexico, we'll ship all over the country. I've left the link below in case anyone wants to stop by and buy some stuff, well, you know. So now yes, I'm leaving. Thank you so much for listening to this unfortunate soul. It isn't true. Thank you for listening to me. I'm going now.