Pink Poogle Toy Forum

Okay, so it's final project season in my art class. I'm painting, and today I had to have my canvas in plus three sketches of possible designs. I spent about 20 hours this weekend on two really nice drawings, then threw in one to round it out. That one was just a random doodle that took me about 20 minutes, and I really can't stand to look at it, much less spend a month painting it.

Unfortunately, my art teacher really likes it. She says it's more original than the one I want to do, which was apparently 'obviously copied from a magazine or something' (it wasn't). If I don't do the one she wants, she'll harrass me about it the rest of the year and take major points off.

Here's the picture I want to use for my painting.

Here's the one I'm starting to wish I never drew.

EDIT: I got my pictures back, so here's the painting I ended up doing:

You're going to hate me, but I really like the eyes. Considering the current situation with the possibility about school next year, I would do the one the teacher wants, simply because the higher marks will help you in your position.

And you can do such neat things with the eyes! The clothing can be vibrant odd fabrics

you'll hate me too, but your teacher is right!
Tsubasa is a pretty picture and well done but there's nothing original in it. I don't want to be rude or mean that you copied it, but you have to face the truth, even if it was well done there are many others almost exactly the same or at least with the same idea. (angsty person with wings.)
Wings and angst is so used it should never be used anymore.
It's like you drew a manga with a magical girl who fights evil with her magic-powers and when she's a girl she dreams of a boy abit older than she is.
Even if it would be well done it would not interest much.

The eyes on the otherhand are very unique. I admit that idea has been used too, but not nearly as many times as the wings.
The idea usually means more, so if you really wish to improve your skills rather than just stick with what you like, (after all, one becomes blind to their own mistakes!) you listen to your teacher.

I just had my art final project this winter and I failed it because I didn't have a good idea. The painting was well done etc, but the idea sucked.
So I don't even want to go get it back and receive my feedback. I'm doing it again next year.
(And also, the teachers were not allowed to help. As it was to test our skills. So please listen to the teacher when you have the chance.)

I've already started the canvas for the woman on the sidewalk.

And I probably should have said this in my original post, but my art teacher very rarely knows what she's talking about. She's criticized every project I've done this year, saying that I'm not going to get a good grade on it because it 'doesn't fit the rubric', and yet I somehow manage to get an A on everything. My art grade is really the last thing I need to worry about.

Another point: I can see developing the eye people (no pun intended), but not on canvas. Maybe as an ink drawing, or even something in Photoshop, but not paint. Too much effort for something I'd rather not have shown to people.

I personally like the angel person better than the eye people. But on the other hand I think the angel person looks complete enough without being colored where as the eyes look like they need to be colored. I'm sure you'll do a great job on your project. Whether you're happy with it or not is the important thing. Your teacher might be grading you but who can really make a final judgement on art? It's just her opinion. Art is open to everyone and there is no wrong answer.

I hate to disagree with ya, but the eye people are definately cooler. The angel girl is nice, but there are a few flaws in it. The originality has already been touched on, so I'll ignore that, and say that the first thing I noticed was that the shins were much longer than the thighs. Looking at my leg, my shin and thigh are about the same length (though my legs are fatty-fat-fat so its hard to tell). The leg over the thigh seems kind of odd to me too, since for me it's uncomfortable to lie down like that. Her knee should be down a little bit more, and the angle of the leg shouldn't be that harsh. As for the wings, well, I would've drawn them like an actual bird's wings instead of just feathers of all the same length, because it just seems odd to me, but yeah, it's probably just me. I also could not tell it was a woman at first, because of the lack of... er... I think you get the picture. Just don't make 'em GARGANTUALLY HUGE. 'cuz she couldn't fly that way ^^;; I do like how you did her hair and face, though. And she actually looks like she's on the ground. Yay.

The eye people, I can totally see painted. Not painted realistically, obviously, but in bright colors with bold outlines. Minimal shading (cell shading?) as well. You could put some random patterns and designs in the background too. It'd look really cool and trippy (that's probably the hippie inside of me talking...). Surrealism is awesome, maaan. It needs to be brought BACK!
*ahem* As for crits on the eye people (if you're going to do it), I'd add a few more folds in the clothes as they kinda look flat, and maybe some folds in the curtain, too. Otherwise, it's cool.

My advice: You could try painting both (don't know how much time you have/how fast you can paint though). That way you can see how the eye people would turn out/keep the cool angel chick for yourself

Your faces are very unique and I would go along with what other people have said, draw more abstract pictures. The eye pictures kind of throws you off, because it's unexpected.

Fae

Well, I ran out of time (only one week of school left!), so I'm not doing either of my sketches:p My new picture is a sidewalk with dead leaves on it, and a bright red feather in one corner. Hopefully it's abstract enough, because I'm really not good with modern art.

Amethyst, I hope your project has been coming along well.

I know what it's like to have a teacher that is kinda, well, not with it. But on the other hand, I know what it's like to know a lot more about something than a kid knows, and try and convince them that I'm right, when they just won't believe me, and then go through the frustration of watching them reject my advice and fail or do poorly or become frustrated. I say that as a teacher and as a mom.

A phrase I have tried to refrain from saying in the past year (because it's snippy) is "just because you disagree with me, doesn't mean I'm wrong."

Teachers are hired because they are capable, not just because they were the only one available for the position. Someone trusted that teacher to have enough knowledge and experience that she would be an asset to the students in your school. Now, granted, not all teachers are like holy wise men whose word is law. However, I think you need to give her a little more credit for knowing what she is doing, even if her taste differs from yours (quite a bit, it seems).

Looking at your artwork, yes, it is really obvious that the eye people were a 20-minute project while the angel one obviously had care and focus put into it. But if you were going to re-do them when you painted them, the amount of time you spent on the sketches is irrelevant. The quality of the idea is more important than the amount of time you spent getting the idea figured out and expanding on it.

With art, if you want to achieve something noteworthy, sometimes familiarity and comfort are most important (think of the vast number of pictures of flowers, sunsets, and lovers that we have seen) and sometimes originality is important. When you are going to re-do something that has already been done before many times (and I don't mean copying, I just mean a similar theme), you need to ask yourself if there's any reason why someone should look at your art instead of the hundreds of other versions of that idea out there. Are you the most realistic artist to do this idea? Is yours the cutest? Have interesting color or lighting or style? Will it be colored in a way that has never been done before?
Again, the question is, if I google "angel" or "winged woman", is there anything about your image that is going to draw my attention over any of the other images? The subject matter itself isn't anything special, so what makes your image special to someone who doesn't know you?

Unless you are an artist solely for yourself (in which case there is not much use in being trained away from your natural inclinations) you need to think about what others will see in your art. Notice I did NOT say, "you need to make sure everyone will like your art best", or "think about what others will think about your art". That is their problem. YOUR problem is to provide something for them to have an opinion on, and to do that to the best of your ability.

When you focus on originality, doing something that has never, or very rarely, been tried before, then the focus of your viewer is going to be on the subject matter FIRST, and then the quality/type of art that it is. The subject matter will capture them regardless of whether your style matches their taste.

Basically, if anyone is going to see your art, you need to think about whether they've ever seen anything like it before. If they HAVE seen anything like it before, then whether you like it or not, and whether they intend it or not, your art will be compared to the other things like it that they have seen - your standard has got to be sky-high. If not, then you are their first (and thus the best) experience they have had in that subject or theme, and you will be memorable and have a stronger impact.

So consider that your art teacher was possibly trying to make it easier for you to make an impact and stand out to your viewers. (This is especially good if you are trying to get into college for art.)

I guess that's more than two cents' worth, but there you have it.

Like I said, I hope your final choice, the leaf picture, turns out the way you want it.

I hope you can scan it so we all can see!

Just finished today, and the painting's up in my room right now. I'll try to steal a camera and take a picture, 'cause it's 28 x 36 and definitely too big to scan

Oh, and for the record: even though my art teacher spent the better part of the work period telling me I was doing everything wrong, I got an A+ and she wants me to bring it back for the school art show next year. HAH.

Oh wow Amethyst! You're a really good... arTIIIST! not artist... Arteist!!!

THat's amazing *flabbergasted*

That picture is wonderful! No wonder you got an A+ for it! Congrats on the art show too! That's something to be very proud of! Keep up the fantastic work and I look forward to seeing more!

:0 I love the final painting! The shading is really nice. Overall, you did a lovely job on everything. ^ ^ Please do keep up the awesome work. (: