@Trezce || Journal Entry
Lev

Lol, harsh truth (Also a recomendation)
27 Jun 2024, 08:34 PM

TW: bad language in video linked below:

I was browsing for music and youtube recommended me a 4 year old video titled "Nobody cares about your art (Get over it)"

Is youtube trying to say something?? XD

Here's the video if you are curious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zftwWi3rc9E

Though after watching it (since the suggestion was already there, I clicked on it) and I think this guy is 100% correct. It even made me feel better, haha. 

 

But I won't deny rejection feels hard, so here's comes a suggestion: I hope Side 7 might implement a way to hide the numbers of likes, follows and views on my works. I won't deny it, it is sort of depressing to see a post that was seen by 30 people and then check nobody liked it. 

Comments (7)

Posted: Thursday, 27 June, 2024 @ 08:56 PM

But I won't deny rejection feels hard, so here's comes a suggestion I hope Side 7 might implement and that's a way to hide likes, follows  and views on my works. I won't deny is sort of depressing to see a post that was seen by 30 people and then check nobody liked it. 

I'll add that to my list, and it'll be a new setting that you can turn on or off.

-- BK

Posted: Thursday, 27 June, 2024 @ 09:05 PM

@BadKarma: Thank you! I trully appreciate it. I won't deny, as much as I try to ignore it, the likes, views and follow number is very discouraging. I really like Side 7, so I want to enjoy it as much as possible :) 

Posted: Friday, 28 June, 2024 @ 09:48 PM

"You gotta care about your art. Because if we don't care about it, why are we making it?"

One of my colleagues in the DYOS collaboration fell into a vicious creative depression in 2009 from which I'd argue he never fully recovered: his self-worth became defined by our reaction to his comics, leading him to chase gimmicks and fads for fast popularity, creating further frustration when those failed. This was a point I coached him on repeatedly over the following years: if you're not confident in yourself, third-party approval won't plug that hole.

I sympathize with your frustration: in the 12 years I've been on DeviantArt, most of the attention I've garnered has been for flags, Downfall Parodies (and not even the videos!), and the Hark! A Vagrant custom emotes, and barely any of my watchers ever actually interacted even before the post-Eclipse quiet quit. It became something of a running gag that I'd thank favs on Original Work with "What do you mean you like stuff I actually made?", but those were the people who actually engaged with what they liked, rather than just indiscriminately inhaled front-page popularity. I've oftentimes considered pulling/remaking old works to my current calibre, but have resisted partly for the sake of historical preservation, and partly because even if it inspired just one person, it's proved its value beyond my own satisfaction.

tl;dr Van Gogh only got famous after he died; in today's culture of online art, the paintings would probably have been self-purged before we even saw them. :x

Posted: Tuesday, 02 July, 2024 @ 04:29 PM

@Thorvald: Thanks so much for your kind words. I've been dealing with this frustration since I shared my work online, which was back in 2009. I won't lie, at times I feel certain regret and think that maybe, the best for my work was to never expose it to begin with, but at the same time, I also learned the benefits it brought to becoe more self aware and critical of my own artwork. It became harsher as in every single social platform the story repeated itself, so it was time I accepted I wasn't talented enough, not for online standards at least. Whatever I lacked for people to like my stuff, I didn't have it and I wouldn't be able to learn it either. 
And think it started to hurt the most was when it came to my comic, I worked on it since I was 15 (now I realize it's been 20 years, wow) and once I shared it I got almost nothing. No matter the platform, I had no response and I realized, after trying in different platforms it wasn't because of an algorithm, IA competition or lack of visibility. I simply don't have the talent to make an engaging story or artwork, at least not for the online audicences and that's certainly a harsh true I had to accept. When it comes to a written story, if nobody wants to read it, then it failed to make it purpose.

But I won't deny that what kept me sharing my stuff and not give up sooner where the few people online who did seem to care for my stuff and, certainly, they kept me going too, regardless of me not being very skilled. To them, I'm forever thankful as they made my days happier more than once, specially during the hard ones. There was a miracle where my story did got readers on Artfol and Faneo, but today I know it was just an exception, not the norm. 

I think it will be healthier if I reduce it's exposure to the few interested readers I have and not stress myself into making it more appealing, searching for more platforms to post it or work twice as hard by making translations, more versions or adaptations because I won't deny that was becoming stressful and the stress was becoming pointless if almost nobody was checking my things, especially when my comic started out as a distraction from my fulltime job. 

Thanks for your kind words, but I think it was also important to have a reality check as well.

Posted: Tuesday, 02 July, 2024 @ 08:33 PM

@Trezce: What I've seen argues strongly against the notion any of this is due to lack of talent. Your style is crisp, the colours are vibrant, and while it's only a few pages into the comic so I haven't yet got a grasp of your writing, aside from typos in the translation to English there's nothing that strikes me as deficient. Never ever ever treat popularity as a commentary on skill: I have seen fantastic creations wallow in obscurity (Side 7, anyone?), and some absolutely atrocious comics (art and story) that against all common sense still attract diehard fandoms. It led me to only half-joke that if you want to get rich, make a bad webcomic. :^)

Posted: Thursday, 04 July, 2024 @ 02:22 PM

@Thorvald: Thanks so much for your kind words and I'm sorry for the late response. I trully appreciate it. At least there's a site like this, Side 7 has something quite special that really makes me to come back and I'm glad I found it ^^ 
I certainly love posting my project here at least ^^

Posted: Thursday, 04 July, 2024 @ 06:57 PM

@Trezce: Honoured as ever to have offered sanctuary. Llama Emoji-03 (Sparkles) [V1] My catch-up even with friends here is proceeding dismally, but rest assured once I do reach your début I will deliver in detail. HAV - John F. Kennedy

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