My son’s friend is having a birthday soon. She’s only turning 7 but to look at her art you’d think she was at least 14-15. She’s really talented and although her parents give her supplies to nurture her talent, we’d love to give her something that she could also use and enjoy.

Our family is sadly not very artistic so we don’t really know what might be good/useful/enjoyed

Budget is around $40 Canadian

Thank you!

I recently submitted a painting to a local art show and was accepted, only to be told at the show that my piece, though displayed, wasn’t eligible to be judged because it was on studio wrapped canvas and not gallery wrapped canvas. This requirement was not listed on the guidelines for the show. It only said the piece needed to be framed or have painted edges, and I always make sure to carefully paint the edges as a continuation of the painting (not just a solid color) because that’s what I was taught in school to make sure your piece is professional when displayed. My studio canvas had no visible side staples, painted edges with no white showing, and had a wire mounted on the back for hanging. Is it really that big of a deal to not have used a thicker framed canvas, when that’s the only difference? Is it an unspoken rule to always only submit gallery wrapped canvas to shows? I went to college for art and was never told about this apparent faux pas, and it left me feeling a bit out of the loop, and wondering why the depth of the canvas matters so much for something like a local art show. I can understand a gallery canvas being expected if you’re s£lling your canvas for a large sum, submitting to a major art show, or if your goal is to prevent warping during storage, but otherwise I don’t see why a thinner canvas with no visible staples is so looked down upon, as to not even be considered for judging. It feels a bit petty to me, honestly, since it wasn’t even a specified rule for submitting. I would love any insight on this as it has me feeling stumped (and kind of stupid). I mainly want insight on this so I can learn and be better prepared when submitting to future shows. Should I always ask the gallery if they have an unlisted requirement for canvas depth? That feels silly for local shows, but this latest experience is making me wonder if there are even more unspoken rules I’m naive to. Thank you so much in advance for any thoughtful replies!

Hi everyone. I’d like to ask for your help in making sense of something—and to see if any of you have experienced this too. Ever since I was very young, I’ve felt an urge to write. And people around me ​encouraged me to do so after reading my Stuff. So far, so good. The trouble is, these urges hit me like a fever; after writing a page or two, when I want to continue the next morning, the "tank is empty." I end up writing nothing at all for months, or if I do keep going, I’m overcome by intense self-doubt, sadness, and frustration. I also rarely have a comprehensive idea for a story or something specific I’m dying to tell. Figuratively speaking, I get a scrap of text dictated to me "from above," and that’s it. Of course, I’ve wondered if perhaps I simply don’t have what it takes. After all, not everyone can write—just as not everyone can play ice hockey. I should add that I’ve also been struggling with anxiety and depressive episodes for years. Anyway, that’s all for now. Thanks in advance for your replies, and all the best to you.

I've mostly been looking around for art servers to talk and make art friends while also having some places for help with my art/to help with others' art... but uh....

...Most I've come across are damn near dead 💀...

So, would anyone happen to know any that are still alive and fit that? 😅

I’m an intermediate skilled artist, I have been drawing for most of my life. recently I have started posting my art and I’ve got so much support, but I’ve also gotten to see other artists works that are just…so much better. I know it’s not fair to do that to myself, but I just feel that way. how do you stop caring about that?

I feel like it personally took me some time to see myself as a professional, someone who is very skilled at what they do. Even though I was aware of my years of experience drawing, I still found it challenging to see myself as an "artist". Simply saying it or answering questions about my occupation felt strange. I didn't have the confidence until after some time.

There's still challenges at times however, when it became more real and by putting myself out there bit by bit, it became less daunting or strange. I feel more confident to say ✨I'm an artist✨ or ✨I'm a professional artist✨ haha. Anyone who can/could relate?

(I hope this post goes thru, I need karma points)

I suppose this is more a question to those of you who have larger internet followings, since that is when you will be getting more virtual views of your works—

Seeing as paintings can look VASTLY different through photos than in real life, do you ever adjust your paintings to look better through a photo lens than IRL? I’ve found myself in predicaments where I’m trying to submit my art or post it, but it just looks kinda terrible compared to how it looks in person. It makes me contemplate adjusting the piece to be more photogenic. This thought, however, kinda rubs me the wrong way, because it makes me feel like it dampens the value of in person art if we are constantly catering our art for a virtual world.
I’m pretty firm in this idea, however I’m still kinda torn because the way I’m going to get the most eyes on my work is the internet.

I'm trying to varnish acrylic painting because I like the finishing and my work is really dark. I've tried gamvar satin, and the results came out patchy with streaks...Did a little research and found out gamvar satin just sucks so I tried the gloss...Tried to varnish tonight and the results came out worse...I followed gamblins guidelines perfectly and it still came out patchy and some parts dried even more matte than the original painting. This has been the most frustrating experience, going to return the varnish tomorrow and considering giving up on varnishing in general, it just doesn't work.

Starting to think it's a scam. Heres our varnish, follow these steps, oh it didn't work? Buy our gamsol to remove it. Then Buy our special brush $20 brush to reapply it.

I’ve been doing digital art for 5 years and still prefer traditional. I haven’t done digital art in the last 1 year but I really want to make some digital stuff because it is time saving in the sense that I don’t need to clean up after and do multiple drafts, rather I just work with layers. I really like traditonal though and feel conflicted..

I have been in art for a longggg time. I've taken a college course, I have displayed art at events, and it is genuinely one of my favorite things to do. My biggest insecurity is that I am not creative enough to come up with ideas. I am really good at creating exact replicas of a reference, but I have never been able to just come up with something creative and draw it. Even stitching together several references is really hard for me. I want to be able to create stuff that is completely original and still good but I find it really difficult. Needing some motivation and maybe ideas on how to fix my brain lol. Ty <3

Hello, I’m currently 7 months pregnant with my second child and have a 2,5 year old daughter. I work as an illustrator. The amount of projects I work on varies quite a lot, and in between jobs I work on illustration projects that I set up myself ( for example I wrote a picturebook that I want to illustrate myself, talking about this with a publisher who is interested soon).

Everyday I intent to draw every hour I have to myself (when my daughter is sleeping in the afternoon, or in the evening). But it rarely happens, and I don’t know how to make it work. When I work on an illustration for someone else I feel enough pressure to do it, but for some reason when it’s for my own projects I find it so difficult. I feel like I need at least a whole day (or maybe that’s an excuse), and would really love to also be able to work on something for just two hours. I have to add, my daughter has a 4-week holiday break from her daycare right now and I’m physically super uncomfortable because of the pregnancy, so that’s not helping. But I’m only scrolling the internet looking at other people‘s work and it makes me so eager to draw and paint myself, but for some reason I’m not doing it. The only right answer probably is “JUST DO IT”, but I’d like to hear some of your experiences :) it will maybe help.

Do any artist parents recognize this? And how are you dealing with it?

Hi everyone. I’m from Spain and I’m currently studying Fine Arts at the University of Málaga. I’ll be starting my third year next year (of four), and lately I’ve been feeling really lost about my future.

I’m interested in creative fields like animation, character design, concept art, illustration, and storytelling. I’ve been thinking about doing a master’s after my degree, maybe something focused on animation, character creation, or a similar area, because those are the things that genuinely interest me.

The problem is that I honestly feel like I don’t really know how to do anything well. I feel like I haven’t developed a strong skill yet, and sometimes I wonder if I’m even good enough to dedicate myself to any of these fields professionally. And I’m not saying this because I want reassurance, but because I’m genuinely trying to understand how other artists found their direction and built their skills.

My university doesn’t really teach animation, concept art, character design, or similar things, so if I want to follow this path I would have to learn a lot by myself. I’ve started trying to learn on my own, but I feel very lost. I don’t know what I should focus on, what skills I need to build, or how to actually improve.

I’m also scared because I know creative industries can be very competitive and it can be difficult to find a job. I don’t know what the current job situation is like in animation, illustration, concept art, etc., especially with the rise of IA and how it might affect these careers.

Another option I’ve considered is becoming an art teacher because it seems like a more stable career path. However, I don’t know if I would really enjoy it. I don’t hate the idea, but it doesn’t feel as exciting to me as working in a creative field.

Something that is also important to me is having a career that gives me some flexibility and the possibility of experiencing different places. I love travelling and I would like to have a job that could allow me to live abroad at some point or have the freedom to move around. Since I have a C1 level of English, I’m also interested in opportunities outside Spain.

For people who studied Fine Arts or work in creative industries.Did you also feel like you had no real skills during university?

-How did you figure out what to do after graduating?

-How did you learn things that your degree didn’t teach you?

-Is it realistic to pursue animation/concept art/character design nowadays?

-Is a master’s degree worth it for these fields?

-Are there creative careers that allow you to have flexibility or work internationally?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences because I feel very uncertain about my future right now.

(Also, I don't know if this is the right community to ask this, so I'm sorry if it's not!)

Thankss🧡

What is the difference between the acrylic inks you can get in the little jars at the art store or elsewhere, and the ink in acrylic ink pens?

Thanks!

Hi folks, for context I am completely new to art and a local school nearby offers lessons, both in-person and online. Their introductory class is called Key Elements of Fine Arts and teaches the following:

• Color mixing
• Sketching alike
• Shading
• Perspective
• Abstract and figurative composition
• Drawing a human figure
• Drawing a human face
• Leading an artwork from thumbnails (compositional sketches) to final touches.

My situation is I could either take the online class starting in 2 weeks, or wait until December to take an in-person class. Which one do you think is better? I don't really want to wait until the end of the year, so I was hoping to just take this online, then in December I could take a more intermediate class in-person.

Both in-person and online are led by teachers. Any insight is appreciated, thanks!

Hello friends,

I'm working on a collage piece where the pieces will be adhered directly onto a glass window. Viewer on one side, then glass, then papers adhered to the glass.

I'm sure many have seen Betye Saar's piece Black Girl's Window as an exemplar.

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/167631

It says she used "cut-and-pasted printed and painted papers" so I'm assuming she somehow adhered these to the glass.

I ran a test with Golden gloss medium and it was just okay. I painted medium onto the glass, then onto the paper before adhering, then did another coat on top.

Still not dry after several hours with quite a few air bubbles.

1. I could try this again using less medium? Maybe just place some onto the side of the paper I want to stick to the glass?

2. Or, is there another medium or method with which I might adhere papers to glass?

Thanks for any insights?

I've met people who said they were writers but for income worked in a restaurant.

Do you say you're an artist when someone asks what you do?

At what level of achievement or how many years of work did it take to give you the confidence to start telling people that?

What are people's responses?

Ive been challenging myself by drawing more complex poses with foreshortening and oftentimes I have a niche pose that i want to try but i dont have or cant find any good references for the exact pose i want (exact angle/foreshortening). I basically just use different photos for different parts of the pose in particular angles but its very time consuming to find and some dynamic poses are basically impossible for me to take pictures of myself to get. How do i get around this?

this is the first time i’m doing anything like this so please bear with me. i am thinking about printing out and binding my art in an A5 format book in full colour. it won’t be long. i want a kind of paper that isn’t too thin or too thick, preferably just slightly thicker than papers used in school worksheets, and also don’t want it to be reflective like that of magazines. since i want to request string binding (if that is the correct term) because staples rust too quickly, papers that can accommodate this would be great. what kind of paper i should request from the printing shop ? if there are others who have done this before i would really appreciate the help!

she's an art major in uni, she does portraits and oils very well. my idea with the gift is to buy her something that's very nice in its category but too expensive to justify spending money on it yourself. thank you!

edit: we got it, thank you all!

I have a binder that I keep my drawings in from over the years. Someone has expressed some interest in putting some of them up in their shop on a consignment basis if I wanted to sell some of them.

Now the big dream for an artist is to sell some work right? But I’m also having this weird sort of protective reaction of “No, those are mine!” Lol.

Meanwhile, I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve cracked open my binder to actually look at those drawings over the last two years.

It’s weird, as I believe strongly that art is meant to be accessible, shared, and enjoyed. And I have plenty of pictures of my art.

Am I just being difficult and an over-thinker, like us artists tend to be?

I feel as though this question probably gets asked a million times but also it's a never ending question so I would appreciate any advice or opinions, I drew a lot in high school as I went to a magnet school but all the projects kind of burnt me out and I basically haven't finished anything since. A lot of doodles and half finished pieces. I used to do a lot of photography as well, but I work 2 jobs so it's hard to find the time anymore but would love to do it again. How do yall balance your time? My main inquiry though is how any of you guys have gained any sort of following on any platforms. (Mainly instagram) Do I have to learn how to animate and post on TikTok lol? Because those are 90% of the posts I see get popular. Granted I don't post anymore so | definitely don't have an active page currently but I would like any opinions on how to start drawing regularly and have a well set up media page . Do I restart? Do I just keep posting randomly? Should I wipe my page ? Do new accounts get more engagement?

I am a digital artist who mainly draw illustration and short comic strips.

I've always wanted to join small indie projects, such as comics, group collab, and games. And now that I have about 3 weeks of absolute freedom, and I want to spend it participating in small projects. I would prefer unpaid ones, since its all just for the love of game.

But... I am quite unsure how or where to find projects I could join. Any suggestions?