Update by WerewolfDegenerate < Journal | Inkbunny, the Furry Art Community

LouisDanes

2 months, 1 week ago

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I'm sorry you're going through that. above all I'm glad you're still safe and kicking. it's hard to recover from trauma like that and it seems like a consistent downward slope, but keep going. It'll sound pedantic, but things will get better. you got this

WerewolfDegenerate

2 months, 1 week ago

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@ LouisDanes

Thank you. I just kind of don't see a way to fix this. It'd require miracles at this point. If anything, it's harder than I thought. I'm just so tired of ... all of this really. I have absolutely no energy for the upcoming lawsuit. I just can't do this. I suppose I'm just going to sit here and draw furry porn until things deteriorate beyond all repair.

LouisDanes

2 months, 1 week ago

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@ WerewolfDegenerate

unfortunately I got no fix for that, I'm sorry. Sometimes you gotta start from square 1 and it's the hardest thing on the planet to do. I had to do the same when I got kicked out of my home back in April. The fact that you're trying your best to move forward means you're miles ahead of where you could be. it's hard but be proud of yourself for that. Recovery takes time, and it's not a race to get back where you are; you might even have to go an entirely new direction. take it slow and let yourself heal the best you can. the big thing to remember is that while you're buried in all that garbage, there's still light that shines in the small solace surrounds you. sometimes you gotta cling to those until things are better.

WerewolfDegenerate

2 months, 1 week ago

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@ LouisDanes

I just don't have the strength, not anymore. Wish I could shave your optimism.

LouisDanes

2 months, 1 week ago

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@ WerewolfDegenerate

well, either way, Im rooting for you. and if there's anything I can do to help, please let me know. no one should suffer like you have and I wanna help if I can.

WerewolfDegenerate

2 months, 1 week ago

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@ LouisDanes

Thank you!

Suel

2 months, 1 week ago

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Let me say you are far from "mediocre". Your art is great! I wish you could see it, too.
I sure hope your situation will get better with time, though.

WerewolfDegenerate

2 months, 1 week ago

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@ Suel

Thanks! I mean, people seem to enjoy my drawings. I suppose that's the most important thing. It's just that I keep repeating the same mistakes and I'm running into the same problems over and over again. And I can't even identify them, let alone fix them. I'm just stuck, and I don't know what to do. It's like I've reached some sort of skill cap that's frustratingly low. It's just really difficult to enjoy this stuff. I just kind of don't like drawing anymore.

Suel

2 months, 1 week ago

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@ WerewolfDegenerate

This feels like a common artist thing which I not really have any idea how to help with beside some generic advice.
Maybe try some new perspectives, draw something you normally never do.

Farrel

2 months, 1 week ago

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Well, hitting a wall in progression is fairly normal in improving.

An art teacher I knew said that something that can help with it is to try a different art style entirely... Switch it up, learn different skills, once you get good at it, blend the two!

But yeah, I hope you beat the block :\

WerewolfDegenerate

2 months, 1 week ago

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@ Farrel

Yeah, I suppose that could be helpful. It's just that there's no method to this madness really so I don't really know how to change things in a meaningful way. Then it's just random. I actually don't really know what I'm doing. I think that's the main problem.

Farrel

2 months, 1 week ago

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@ WerewolfDegenerate

Well, your brushwork and anatomy are both pretty good... Why not go for some experiments with colour theory perhaps?

At worst, you get some messy masses of colour for a bit before giving up... At best you learn some awesome light effects and learn to make stuff really pop with limited pallet choices and whatnot.

Stormfrost227

2 months, 1 week ago

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Ive been falling apart lately and it might sound cheesy but i dont care, seeing your art grace our timelines again pulled me from a grey scale world and let me see colors again; i forgot that we can be beautiful thank you for reminding me <3

WerewolfDegenerate

2 months, 1 week ago

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@ Stormfrost227

I'm glad you enjoy my drawings. I suppose that's the main thing really. These drawings aren't for me, they're for you guys. And people seem to enjoy them, so that's something at least.

ZwolfJareAlt306

2 months, 1 week ago

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*hugs*

Dwael

2 months, 1 week ago

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Someone pinch me because I'm clearly dreaming. You're one of my top favorite artists ever since I first found you a few years ago! Sooner or later every artist complains about no motivation, saying how bad some of their art is; but I honestly don't understand which part of your drawings bothers you 😶 There's always room for improvement, I won't argue about that, but if you call your art "mediocre" one more time we're gonna have a problem buddy 😁!

Kinaj

2 months, 1 week ago

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For a more practical input on this, if you feel like you're stuck and don't know how to improve, you may want to try something along the lines of mimicing other techniques or ways to draw, or try to draw in the style of other artists. But also maybe you can find another artist to give you some input and red lining on your pieces if it comes more down to anatomy for you.

Otherwise I am really sorry to read about your struggles. I do not even know half of it, so I am doing hard to comment on, I can only say that most people going through hardship like that will lack energy and one can't draw effectively without energy. That I can speak from experience. You may want to look at your art process from that perspective. That being said, passion projects are what brings me through downs in my art making a lot, things that will make me not wanting to put my pen aside but just keep drawing. It's not always easy to find that kind of project, but it's good to keep an eye out for them.

ShySketch

2 months, 1 week ago

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if you gotta take a break from art to do things, then do. put some of the money into bitcoin, the only hope for the future at this point.

If this isn't making any money then I get what you're saying, no cap fr fr. Whenever I go hardcore art mode it rektz me on things I actually should do for the ez pz future state I want. GL <3

Th3Bun

2 months, 1 week ago

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It's good to see you among the living. On the bright side, I always looked forward to seeing something of yours pop up in my inbox. Your themes and situations just about always push (read: smash) my buttons. I'll even go so far as to say I get off to them pretty regularly. Your skill is just fine as it is. Sure we all wanna improve at some point, but please don't think that your audience doesn't appreciate where you've been and where you are now. That's why we're still here and continue to remain here. There is a person behind the art, after all.

I have been wishing for a brighter tomorrow for you. I can't imagine the weight of what you carry.

Blather

2 months, 1 week ago

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Good dog man your artwork is phenomenal. You have such a great expressive style. You're obviously passionate about your subjects. There is nothing I'd change about your art - it's a joy to see any new works from you.

There's an old saying: When you're going through hell, dont stop. Keep going.
I know, it's trite and trivializes your individual circumstance. But keep going. Life throws good as well as bad.

EPIPAN

2 months, 1 week ago

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Edited 2 months, 1 week ago by Owner

It's very nice to see you around here :D

Don't be such a perfectionist, fella. It's natural and very edifying for artists (and anything else really) to strive to be better every day, but actively seeking to do so can easily become a sure path to frustration, disappointment, anxiety and depression. Often an artist's level, and his own style, comes naturally on its own. The great artists of history painted, and of course they aspired to improve, but the main thing is that they lived from it and lived for the simple enjoyment of painting.
The painter Sorolla, for example, spent all his time painting every day and came to paint thousands of works, something like 48 paintings a year, but that was because the man enjoyed painting, it was his pleasure.
You know it's a thing about enjoying the journey instead of just despairing about when you will arrive to your destination.

If what's frustrating you is that you're losing the sense of purpose or meaning in making illustrations, and the money from commissions isn't enough motivation, then you must give yourself or find that purpose yourself. Some, like Tolkien himself, have a world they want to build and dedicate their lives to writing about that world (In Tolkien's own words (40 years to write The Lord of the Rings and the Elvish languages he created)).
You could perhaps start a comic. Or try to find your muse. I have my muses... characters that I have created, originally in role-playing campaigns, that have transcended that and those characters inspire me to one day do things with them. Because I simply want to tell their comings and goings and/or because I am seduced by thinking or imagining them and/or their bodies. I don't have the ability to start sharing things yet, though.

Hopefully some of this can be of help to you.

WerewolfDegenerate

2 months, 1 week ago

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@ EPIPAN

Yeah. I've been thinking about working on a longer story based comic. I just haven't been able to come up with a viable business plan around it. But I suppose it doesn't really matter anymore anyway. Maybe I'll give it a try. It could make it feel less pointless really.

Folvondusque

2 months, 1 week ago

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Ouch, I'm really sorry to hear all the tragedy that has befallen you. I wish you luck with that lawsuit.

As for the art stuff, your art is good! People really love it! The world needs more of it! What I have learned over the years, is that my headspace has more to do with how good I think my art is than how good it actually is. I get the impression your headspace is an active dumpster fire... So there's that for whatever solace it brings. Also yes, you should upload your arts!

WerewolfDegenerate

2 months, 1 week ago

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@ Folvondusque

Thank you. And yeah I'm just mentally in a bad place really. It definitely affects my art too. It's just that don't know how to fix any of it. I just can't do this alone.