Slag

hm. I'll consider it. It's not the first time someone's asked. We shall see.

Thanks for your time, and, heh, yeah, it's a shame our decent little conversation is buried in all this muck. Oh well!

I absolutely understand what you mean by whether artists focus more on craftsmanship or self-expression. I believe self-expression is the most important aspect of art, but craftsmanship also matters. It's like the difference between valuing that someone expresses themselves and valuing that someone expresses themselves well.

Personally, I believe that the best artists, and some of the best individuals, are those who both set out to express themselves and do it well. While there is value in speaking about what you feel and care about, there is more value in speaking about what you feel and care about in a way that's understandable. In a way that has impact. So, a great artist needs both something to say and the thoughtfulness to say it well.

Though, people have different intents with their art. For some, it is more insular, and the "effective" part of it is whether it makes a positive impact on themselves. They might be who you would consider bohemian, focusing more on their own gratification from creating something than focusing on whether anyone else gets it. On the other hand, if someone's intent is to communicate, the "effective" part of it is whether it has the potential to impact others. The same can be said of words. These words you are reading now are simply taps on a keyboard, conjuring up thoughts of what they represent. If these words do not convey something, then they are only futile taps on a keyboard. I believe that most people have something to communicate, and so, understanding how to use and understand words and other forms of communication is important.

If making art makes someone happy, that may be enough. Someone can keep their expressions to themselves and feel reassured in their own unique existence. For others, and very often for game developers, the intent is both to serve a purpose and convey something. Even if all you are able to provide is some level of entertainment, that has some value. A developer also hopes that a game is well-received, or at the very least, is experienced by many people. Enough to perhaps fund another project that keeps the dream alive.

If a game is simply torn down for being a bad game, that's different from a game being criticized for faults in the design. As a painter, you want criticism to focus on how you convey a subject or try to make an impact, and sometimes people will criticize issues they see with you latching on to tired tropes or distracting elements. That's welcome, as it shows investment from the viewer and a chance to improve for the future. What you don't want to hear is simply that your technical skills failed you. Like a game criticized for its bugs despite its other merits of design. That's likely just a mistake or an issue of priorities. Technical errors are not a part of your vision. That's when you see that your intended message was betrayed by your lack of skill or investment in conveying that message effectively without too many distractions.

I think this is one of the values of teaching art to people, because it's often less about the skill and more about how you look at things. Art has value as a symbol of self expression in a world where it is all too easy to lose a sense of self. Art is a matter of personal freedom even if you are in the strictest of cages. No matter what you do in life, you can do it artfully, and even if you are not working on a canvas or on a game, you can live like an artist in your own life. Even if they're not all fine arts, most things in life are arts. From talking to people, to being loving toward someone, to finding contentment in your job, to raising children, and so much else. These aren't exact sciences; these are areas of personal expression with results based on our effort and skill.

Art will never be perfect, because we'll never be perfect. So, failures and criticism are to be expected and even anticipated. They help you think about what you're doing and who you are, and they spur you on to do even better. There is great value in having passion and acting out that passion in your life. And while I may not always be making art, I will always be an artist.

Thanks, Slag.

I definitely get what you mean. We do have our pictures of people, and they're quite often mistaken. ha. But hopefully for the better. I'm an odd fellow, but I am who I am.

I like your interpretation of my name. It was more or less an accident that kind of caught on. Another passion of mine is news and diplomacy(and the behavioral sciences), and I used to write seriously on current events and philosophy. Some people seemed to like it, and I often used the moniker "The Truth Tempest". In retrospect, I'm a bit embarrassed by how bold that name was, but a few years ago, I started visiting more videogame websites and met someone named Spoony Bard. As a Final Fantasy 4 joke, I changed my name from "Truth Tempest" to "Truth Tellah". I kept on commenting as I had been, and I unexpectedly started receiving comments responding positively to it, replying with things like, "This guys tellahs the truth!" And it stuck. I've embraced it, and I try to live up to it as best I can. To be perfectly honest, a lot of what I say is simply a sincere opinion, not anything close to absolute truth, but then, I do attempt to be as personally truthful as I can be.

As for artists, I know what you mean. Many immature, overly prideful, or unprofessional artists do respond very harshly to criticism. Just this year, I was with an artist who received some rather biting criticism to his face about one of his pieces, and he took it down right off the wall and left. ha. That doesn't mean criticizing that art was wrong. That's simply an issue with the artist. Most artists I have known have gotten used to criticism, and the most successful ones can take quite a bit. It's a part of creating a lot and being a professional. I have seen for myself that the bigger splash you make, the more real criticism you receive. ha.

A lot of artists do take criticism of their work as personal criticism, and you know what? That's exactly right. What you create, whether it's tangible art or some kind of work, reflects part of you. A criticism of one of my pieces is very much a criticism of me. Yet, that's good. I'm not perfect, and my art reflects that. Even the greatest works have flaws and issues. And if I'm putting it out there, I'm hoping for responses, both positive and negative. An artist that can't take criticism of their work is a person that can't take criticism of themselves.

It's only as viable as far as you can stretch your fifteen minutes, so no.

heh. Not quite sure what that means, but yes, I am an artist. My specialty is classical oil painting, as that's what I trained in and focused on for many years, but I also studied 3D art and worked on videogames for a few years. I imagine that's a big part of why I continue to be so interested in videogames, and I have wondered recently about getting back into developing them. We'll see.

I've spent much of my life around artists and working as one; so, it's always interesting to see how people perceive artists. I'm a bit amazed at how many gamers act like videogame creators(aka. artists) are like fragile flowers that can't take serious criticism on possible concerns like this. Considering a lot of gamer culture, I can understand why some might think that, but their concerns are mostly unfounded. If they're serious about what they're making, they've already considered the possibility of people responding like this, and frankly, most of an artist's time is spent seeing the issues in what they create and trying to find a way to improve it. In art school and once your work is in galleries(or being sold), you learn about the value of sincere criticism, and a lot of times, you do hear people make very pointed criticism regarding the problematic aspects of your work. Not all criticisms are things you'll agree with, but if I can get a strong reaction and spark some discussion, that's not too bad a result. Many gamers' constant harassment is more likely to lead to censorship or someone just leaving the industry than gamers and critics providing real, substantive criticism and opinions.

If someone sincerely points out a possible issue, I'm much more likely to be unhappy that I missed seeing it than mad that someone might respond negatively to part of my work. Responding is -great-, and people will like some things and dislike others. That's just opinions, and I'm glad that my other favorite art form, videogames, have really started to receive more of that level of criticism and concern. That doesn't mean I always agree with criticism, but it's good that a diverse range of people are more openly expressing themselves with their praise and concerns about every aspect of videogames.