Writer or Artist?

Which one do you see yourself as being? If you pick an answer other than "neither", be sure to specify why. Also, try to specify what kind of writing or art you do, or see yourself doing. So for instance, if you say you see yourself as an artist, what kind of art? Traditional? 3D? Anime/Manga?

Definitely an artist. After reading a book or any kind of writing, I get all pumped up and try to write something interesting but that feeling lasts only 5 minutes before I realize I'm hot garbage at writing… anything. Drawing stuff is much more immediately mentally satisfying for me than taking days and days to craft lore for some epic story. If I ever became a professional, I maybe could see myself doing digital concept art or something like that, but modeling things in 3D also sounds neat.

Both, I've been working in advertising for over 10 years, finally left the agency life to go freelance and the freedom is amazing. But having solid copy writing skills along with design and strategy is key to being successful in my industry. Both.

@feathered: I'm more the opposite. I see myself as a writer at heart, with it being something I see myself as being far better at then me as an artist. Of course I suppose that's not saying much in the end because my art's not really very good. Even so, I see myself as having some writing talent at least, or if nothing else the potential.

Definitely neither, I do about zero creatively these days.

I can't remember the last time I wrote or drew something that had anything other than some real world utilitarian purpose.

I suppose if I had to pick one it would be artist/paint tho, I'd rather draw than write if forced to do one.

I can only draw robots, but I can write all sorts of different things. Therefore, I'm a writer. I write stuff here, I write stuff there, I write stuff everywhere.

Writer? Both? Neither?... Probably writer.

Any tips on getting into the advertising industry?

I've been known to be an OK writer and fantasy/anime/anthro artist, at least that's what some people have told me. Some people actually pay me money for the stuff! But like most self-loathi self-respecting artists I hate my stuff and I feel it's garbage in its truest form.

I do both. Not sure if I'm good at either. People seem to enjoy my weird drawings and sense of humor though, so that makes me happy.

@blackout62: Lots of different jobs out there in advertising but if it's a creative role you're looking for I would recommend augmenting your design and writing with coding. There are a lot of coders and designers out there but if you can do both well finding a job shouldn't be very difficult.

I used to do both. When i was younger i consider myself as an artist, more of an anime/manga artist. In my uni years, i used to write a whole lot, about a lot of random things and my personal views on everyday occurrences.

Now I do neither.

Artist definitely. I used to draw a lot, and was originally majoring in Drawing. I did some pretty cool stuff, mostly abstract, drawing on huge scrolls of toilet paper I stole from my school's bathroom, that kind of stuff.

Now I make more music than pictures though.

Writing. But my writing is art. Take that, sucker.

Neither, I'm not a particularly creative person. If I was forced to choose one with a knife to my throat I'd choose artist because while I'm possibly the worst artist in the entire world at least I can finish a drawing, with writing I just have a ton of indecision and rarely ever get further than a paragraph that has been rewritten 10 times.

Writer, certainly. I think in words instead of images, my drawing skills are terrible, and I've always been handy with grammar and spelling. Sitting down and cranking out a piece of writing is still something I really enjoy, even when it's paired with another annoying action (such as finding sources for yet another college paper).

In terms of what writing I see myself doing, I guess I would only say games writing or fiction writing, as those are the things I've spent the most time doing. Fiction is creatively rewarding and allows me to explore various things. Games writing hones my critical eye and makes me learn more about why I like certain things. I think these are the things I would--or will, likely--do with writing.

I used to draw. From when I was little until around age fifteen. I was pretty good for a kid. I also tried to write stories, which took over my drawing and turned into kind of an obsession that lasted many years. Now I do neither. Maybe I should have stuck with drawing. But the passion is gone. Completely.

Neither. I've never had any creative or artistic talent. I just consume what others make.

i can draw a stick mans

I periodically program terrible games.

http://gamejolt.com/profile/sally/153771/

But I'm more of a musician. I've been playing and composing for a couple of decades now.

http://soundcloud.com/underwaterbob

I'm not an incapable writer, but I don't do much of it and certainly never published anything. If you played any of my games, you already know that I can't draw for shit.

I'd consider myself as both. A bit of background... I'm a better artist but i prefer to do it outdoors but within the last year I've withdrew because I've had 4-5 parents complain and compare me/suspect me as some sort a deviant because I liked to draw in public places... I've stopped entirely... You know because 28 year old male who likes to draw in public automatically means I'm some twisted deviant, right?

Writer. My ability to visualise has gone completely to shot but I can put pen to paper without too much notice.

@dudeglove: Well, halfway there I guess... hopefully.

Art. Been drawing since around the age of 5.

Also it rhymes with fart. Writing doesn't rhyme with anything poop-related so it's obviously a waste of time.

(clearly I shouldn't write jokes either)

I do different types of art: realistic, cartoony/stylised etc. Also landscapes. It's either through traditional or digital means, although the traditional work mostly pencil and ink based. Hoping to make a living out of it eventually, and I'm currently building up my portfolio.

I'm a writer. It's one of the few things besides gaming that makes me happy. Since my son was born I haven't had any time, but I have a blog which I always try to keep in mind. I tend to be able to maintain my voice when writing fiction more easily than when writing opinion pieces, but I dabble in both.

Webcomic writer, who just happens to draw the thing as well. I'd never refer to myself as an artist. In my native language, the word for artist is mostly reserved for a higher tier of creative. The first time I picked up an American Marvel comic, and saw that it had a credited artist, I thought to myself "wow, they got an actual artist to draw this?! It must be a really special issue!" Took me a while to realise how it was.

Whenever I refer to myself as someone who draws, I use the word pencil monkey.

I do try to improve on both of my writing and my drawing though. But I doubt I will ever use the word artist to describe myself.

I've tried both. Can't draw for shit, so I used various programs to make "art". Had a deviantart page I am not going to link to.
Also try to write now and then. Mostly it is tucked safely away in a notebook, but I am starting to put it onto my webpage. Both short stories and a Twine-thingy I want to make will be there.
I also have tried to program and make stuff that way, but I just never get good enough fast enough to stick with it.

Guess I am mostly a writer though, as that is what is closest to my heart. Do work in a bookstore after all.

Writers are artists. Good ones are, at least.

I write novels and poetry, although I see myself first as a man of ideas and narrator of experiences. I also draw for my novels, not as good as a write, but I enough to communicate the ideas I want. So writer first, and artist second.

Writer. I think I'm decent at putting fiction or non-fiction to a page, but I've always been terrible at any visual art. Perhaps it's just because I've had more patience for writing.

Despite having a mother who was an art teacher, I'd say I'm more of a writer. I had the good fortune of having parents who forced me to read very early. I distinctly remember being the only kid in Kindergarten who could read actual books. I also had some tremendous English teachers over the years. Additionally, there was a bit of artistic crossover in there because of how I visualize things in my mind. If I see a word once, I'll remember how to spell it for the rest of my life. I utterly dominated UIL spelling back in the day to the point where other competitors freaking hated me. I could spell better than kids who were much smarter than I was. They knew it just as well as I did, so they were bemused to the point that I actually felt guilty about beating them. Ironically enough, the only real limiting factor as a speller was my horrific handwriting. Most words I "missed" were actually spelled correctly but just weren't written legibly, which made me appear even more of an idiot savant. As an adult, I'd still say I write above my intelligence. The strong core of people pushing me to excel grammatically made for a strong writing foundation. I don't take too much credit for it, as there's a difference between being well-educated enough to write well and being a truly creative, brilliant writer. I'm more of the former than the latter if I'm being honest with myself.

I was a good, but not great artist. I've got creativity in spades due to a tenuous grip on sanity from a billion things randomly bouncing around upstairs. My actual drawing/painting, though, was never anything special. I placed in some art competitions in my youth, but hit my own self-imposed glass ceiling and moved on. Still, I really believe I could have been a brilliant film director, and should have focused more energy to that end. I'm a terrific photographer, largely because I do have an eye for it. This is going to sound fairly arrogant/ridiculous, but much of what I imagine in my head is truly beautiful to the point that I feel like I'm depriving the world of it. I've not been particularly exceptional at much, but I think I could have here. I've dreamed up full-length films that I'm completely convinced would be masterful, down to how I'd want every scene to look, what dialogue to use, what score I'd pair with it, etc., etc. When directors absolutely nail it (see: the greatest scene ever put on film), it affects me in a deep and meaningful way because someone else managed to make a scene in a way that I feel like I would have. I may well have missed my calling, and if I had it to do all over again, I'd surely try that path. Sadly, it's too late now. I don't have the time to pursue it in the "all in" that way I would, and as a husband, I can't just drop everything and be a burden on the wife while I chased a dream. I try not to live my life with regrets, but this will be chief among them on my deathbed. I'll move on because this is getting to be a downer.

In reality, I do some coding/web design to where I use some writing/artistic skill, so it's not a total loss. I get to somewhat scratch that itch. I also did some sportswriting in college and was good at it to the point that I would be doing it professionally for an NFL team had my college degree been in the field. (After multiple interviews, it came down to another candidate and myself, and they straight-up told me that the group I would have worked for pushed to hire me, but upper management demanded the other guy because he had an educational background in media. Oh well.) I can count that pursuit as mostly completed to a satisfactory level, and I'm honestly not sure I would have been all that happy dealing with some of the bullshit inherent to media anyway. I digress. This is an interesting question and thread, if the few paragraphs in which I've poured out my heart a bit and related some personal stories and feelings wasn't indicative enough. There's definitely some overlap in quality writing/artistry if you ask me, and the greats at either have my utmost respect. As for this thread, thanks for making me reflect a bit today, and for anyone who actually reads all this, thanks for listening to my cathartic rambling.