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Ok I just want to write a quick thread about my experience w/ bullying in the Warriors/furry online community and then I'll shut up about this, just because I think it's a good case study about why it's not ok to make fun of young artist's work online.
So, I've been somewhat in the "public eye" since 2009, and that comes with a lot of lovely interactions and also, unfortunately, a lot of less nice ones. People do get mean in the face of moderate "success" and taking me & others in my position "down a peg" happens.
Sometimes people take it too far, like the case of this person who, with the help of a friend, harassed me for months on deviantart about my crappy art and made personal attacks on me as a person. I was, I think, 14 at the time and they were an adult.
Now, I'd like to tell you I ignored it and it didn't matter in the end, but it did matter. I did not pursue art. I didn't even try. I threw up my hands and said "I will never be good enough" and put all my energy into becoming a good writer instead.
That worked out nicely for me, I like writing a lot better, but the reason I like writing more than art is I have a trauma-link to art critique specifically because of this person. I gave up on getting better because this person's harassment and cruelty made me wary of real help.
My Pride is a nice treat because I get to draw again, but I didn't go to art school, never earnestly tried to get a job in visual art, never developed a desire to improve because it lost all the joy early on. Writing holds joy where art can't anymore.
Charitably, maybe people who are really hard on children's art think they're giving them "tough love" and making them better, but that is not the place of a stranger on the internet. I believe people who do this are power tripping and nothing more and shouldn't be tolerated.
Unless a child has asked you to help them improve their art, leave them alone, they're learning. They can improve when they're older but you will suck all the enjoyment out of art if you do this to a kid. This bully changed the course of my life and they have no idea.
That's why I don't mind if kids trace my art and I try to comment on every piece of fan art I get, because cultivating the joy of making art should always come first, especially when you're young. Once it's gone, it's gone, and that sucks and it's sad and shouldn't happen.
Phew ok, feels good to get that off my chest. Let me just close out by saying: be nice to kids online!!! Their brains are spongey and they will remember you forever if you're a dickhead!!
Here's a perfect video on the topic:
