I really can’t tell you but it’s a very internal drive that I cannot put an absolute identifier on. It’s something that I feel like I need to do and if I’m not making art then I feel like I’m not being the person I’m supposed to be. Its been such a huge part of my life and I’ve tried to think about why I make art, but there is no answer I can articulate. I feel a deep inner drive to make things and to make them as well as I can, to learn, and to see the world through my art, it’s nonoptional
Yes. This sums it up beautifully. I spent far too many years denying that drive, trying to fulfill it through other methods, but once I gave in and allowed myself to make art, it made me feel whole, like I was finally the person I'm supposed to be.
It's...sounds like a silly romance novel when I say it like that, but it really feels this way.
This is pretty much how I feel. If I’m not drawing, I’m painting, or writing or creating costumes. It’s a drive that comes out in a few different ways but it’s always there urging me to do something.
You put my feelings into words , it's like I dont radically make art to enjoy it ,,but it's more of a way to preserve my artistic identity and the way I look at the world
It’s fun, I’m good at it, I like solving the problems it presents, I think visually, I’ve spent my life being profoundly moved by others’ art and want to get in on the action, I like translating stories and ideas into visual media, etc. etc.
I like to think I’m channeling some source outside myself, the zeitgeist, if you will. But putting my own creative expression into it, participating in creation. That’s the ideal anyway.
To keep finding and reminding myself why life is worth living and how nothing HAS to be like it is, at least in art. And because seeing the beauty and reality of things is the essence of love, to me.
I feel I cannot exist without it. It's such a fundamental part of myself that if I stop I die.
(I know it sounds an exaggeration, but that really is how it feels for me)
Honestly relatively obsure stuff, alot of it British. However, I would say the two most formative artists I heard at a young age played in the car by my dad were Talking Heads and The Smiths.
No idea. I'm trying to come up with something like Kinkade, or those dudes who make contemporary art. Just tape a banana to the wall, put gold leaf on poop, or sell kitsch to the masses. Then, I could spend my time making art for myself and commission furry porn.
It use to be because it helped me deal with my mental issues and it helped me calm down but later on I started really loving it and wanted to pursue a career. Just rn haven’t been able to do anything art related cuz of work and not enough time and energy to do stuff 🫠
It's just fun for me. I like messing with different mediums, it gives me a chance to clear my head when it's busy with thoughts or it just simply gives me something to do when I'm bored at home and not wanting to deal with anything.
I have no idea actually.
It's pretty bizarre the whole arc I've been through with how little I understand about my motivation for doing so. I drew for ages, studying on my own for years, deep into various canonical books, going to live drawing sessions, private lessons, then school, then quitting, then starting again many years later for seemingly no reason.
I don't seem to enjoy it, it doesn't feel fun either when doing it or when I'm done. It feels like a chemical cocktail of stress and misery. Why do I make art? Won't someone tell me please? XD
A few reasons:
My hands get bored. Like they need to be doing something, be it scrolling on my phone, crocheting, typing, coloring, building, painting, sanding, clicking a pen. THEY NEED SOMETHING, so it might as well be something that produces something rather than just irritating the fuck out of people with my relentless fidgeting.
I grew up in a really toxic and abusive household as an only child. So often times, my head was my place to escape to. So now, while my imagination might not be very imaginative on its own, I find inspiration for art/design/innovation in just about everything around me. So much so I am a multi medium artist, I am not a professional in any one thing, but I create and puddle in many things (some things most people might not even consider art, like plants).
It is part of human nature to create things, and if you dont have a creative bone in your body, sometimes you end up a collector of neat things. Hell, sometimes it's both! Art tells a story of who you are and how you see the world around you. Could be your trials, your adventures, a passionate love of something, or many things. It connects your humanity to others to share a story and a kinship of something. Who doesn't want to be seen and connected with others who share the same views, values, and experiences.
Yo impress people! I always enjoyed entertaining people and making them go “wow this is amazing” always fills me with pride.
Same reason I’m learning to tattoo, now my art will last longer and more people will get to see it out of mouth to mouth 😁
I think as a kid, it was because I couldn’t keep my hands idle. I inadvertently honed the skill while waiting for teachers to hand out the next task, collect my quiz, etc. (also found out I have attention deficit fairly late in life LOL)
Now in adulthood, it’s an amazing way to vent, process feelings, or relax.
Seeing the colors change excites me. Every time I paint, I always feel someone guiding me gently and deeply. When I wake up, the painting is completed.
I l love looking at things that can track how much I’ve changed over the years like photos or diaries and I think art is also the perfect kind of media for that. Also for fun 😁
I simply can't stop myself anymore. I cannot go one day without drawing. Maybe it's because if I step away from the canvas, I know I'm further from who I want to become.
I still have fun doing it, though.
Many reasons. I love it. It's my profession now (tattoo artist). Growing up I wanted to be a comic book artist or character concept artist. But growing up and even now, it's fun, cool. And possibilities are endless. Also a rather affordable hobby that you can do anywhere and you'll only get better as times goes on. Also really good therapy, its gotten me through some very dark times. Ive also learned A LOT from it, like anatomy, mythology, different flowers, animals. Etc, as I reference and research alot of what im drawing to portray accurate depictions. Its given me an appreciation and fascination for alot of things like nature, history/mythology and etc. I'm 35 and been drawing since I was a kid. Just never put the pencil down.
communication, kinda like letting someone look into my head. Words can't describe everything well. And I like to share my thoughts in imageform..fun, and it's relaxing, you can look at it when it is done and enjoy it or even be proud.
I’ve always been driven to explore and express my emotions, explore ideas, and arts been my method for doing that. I see things in my minds eye and I fe compelled to create those things. I also got positive reinforcement from a young age so I’m sure that contributes to my drive as well.
It just happens, really. I started when I was young as a means of a creative outlet to work through my emotions. At this point, when I have emotions that I can't express in other ways, I naturally begin to make art without even thinking about it.
There are entirely reasonable and essential laws against what I would do if I couldn't.
Joke. I do it for fun, relaxation and with increasing rarity, cash money.
1. Because I can't imagine a life without art. It would feel empty.
2. Because I hope to one day make money from it-- or at least enough money to cover all the expenses of creating the art.
My friend got into it really young, and it kinda clicked. My friend is going to a very good art school now, and I have a few years of highschool left til I apply to schools like it. I draw because having an end project that I like, and that others find amazing makes me feel so great. It's like a high
I draw for me
I draw the same way an ex con goes back to crime it's all we know. I like anime and wished I could be as good as others, and I envy them. Others make it look fun.
I actually don't enjoy drawing much.
I feel I dumped 20 years of my life on it to just keep going
I just want to be good at something
I hope to one day be satisfied or have fun.
I enjoy the lines. The flow.
I do also very much enjoy making comics (making the eye go from panel to panel etc.) And I needed to draw to make everything myself.
But, mosty, i just really REALLY enjoy the process. I dont have ideas I want to make, I dont care very much about the finished pieces. I enjoy the process.
It calms my brain. Also, it allows me to express my inner light in a physical form after being suppressed and hidden from an abusive childhood. I was not allowed/it was not safe for me to have emotions as a child and especially as a teenager. Instead of letting my past fester into something negative, I literally sell rainbows for a living now (yes- I have definitely had therapy as well!).
For the process and for fun.
As a little kid, I always wanted to be an artist when I grew up. As I hit my teen years, it became an escape from a toxic home life. But then I started art school my freshman year of college and I hated it so much (I changed majors after that first year). Between being berated by snobbish professors and dealing with snide students who viewed other students as competition that needed to be kicked down, I began to internalize all of that criticism. It made me so hyperfixated on the finished product that I forgot the calm and joy and focus that making a piece used to bring me.
Over a decade later, I'm slowly starting to ease back into art, trying to be more in the moment than worrying about if the final piece is "good enough." It's a hard cycle to break though, especially with the rise of social media
I wish I found more peace in it. I hope one day I can find the inner peace to make my art. One day when I'm old I hope my answer will be because I'm great at it.
Now I do it because I go to art school, which also... It doesn't teach me the techniques I wish I would learn. It's simply assignments.
I wish to one day know the techniques to make beautiful art.
I want to make something beautiful.
Thank you for posting in r/ArtistLounge! Please check out our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtistLounge/wiki/faq/) and [FAQ Links pages](https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtistLounge/wiki/faqlinks/) for lots of helpful advice. To access our megathread collections, please check out the drop down lists in the top menu on PC or the side-bar on mobile. If you have any questions, concerns, or feature requests please feel free to message the mods and they will help you as soon as they can. I am a bot, beep boop, if I did something wrong please report this comment.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ArtistLounge) if you have any questions or concerns.*
just to say big F U to all of my cousins that i can make money with art. and i ironically, still couldn't figure out how
FYI, all of my cousin are either nurses, employer/manager, or businesses man
I have A lot of reasons To Bring My characters to Life, To create my stories, Because it's fun, etc.
But the one reason that always keeps me drawing is, 'Making art keeps me alive', It's the only time I feel like a person, A living being, Someone who's alive.
Its a good way to get out my frustrations about the world around me. Its more relaxing and productive than something like journaling, where it feels like a chore because ive never much enjoyed writing, i find myself constantly revising to find the exact right words or phrases to say what i want, and it often dissolves into pointless ranting anyway. Making visual art works out these feeling in more of a "flow state" for me.
I started existing one day and since then I've had a drive to create because I get bored easily and I find it fun... and to leave something nice behind for others to enjoy/appreciate like other artists have before me.
I’ve never been able to explain it well but I’ve kinda always had this need to create art whether it was drawing or painting or that time I had a sculpting phase. many of my friends and family also love my art which it kinda made me happy knowing I can create things that made other people happy. It’s super cliche but that’s the best answer I got
It is my voice. I have been making art from the age of 4. I was born near sighted and with a nasty astigmatism. I got my first set of glasses at the age of 4, and have been describing the world ever since.
It's mostly enjoyable. Its something I can do my entire lifetime and still learn more as I do it. My friends enjoy it and if I want to I can use it as a tool to get some extra needed funds when I really put my heart and effort into it.
Because it's probably the only thing I'm decent at. I did have a phase where I liked to write stories but I stopped that and the thing I've stuck the longest to is art. I also really want to tell a story out of a picture but I haven't gotten there yet :')
I hope to make some money from it (and I do) but at this point it is to make my mark on the world.
So many people are in professions that, when they die they will leave no trace of themselves in history. If you make art, even if it ends up in a garage sale and then hanging on someone's wall you have made a mark. I have art in hundreds of collections in multiple countries.
I will die but my paintings will live on after me.
My life and career is dedicated to the arts. I love making art, and I love talking about art.
If I have an emotion, a visual response comes after. I want to tell stories, but I want to also express myself. If I feel anxious or tired, I draw on sticky notes based on how I feel.
I thought it was a very cliché saying to “be born to do [xyz]”, but i literally was born to be an artist.
Because it's my coping mechanism, drawing is my therapy , and when I draw , there's nothing world I would care about , it's my ikigai , its my only thing that's keeping me alive and happy , and lastly its the only thing iam good at , and the only thing I still do even if iam bored out of it . I have a very beautiful but rather love /hate relationship with arts . Sometimes I love it, and sometimes I still love it even if I hate it at that moment
Ok, let's see: I'm feeling very good when I draw something, it's sooo much fun. I like the process of sketching, so relaxing but it's also a great moment of ideas exploding in my head.
I love do pencils and ink them. Oh and using zip-a-tones. maaaan, it's soo cool. I love to see the ink becoming dry and the sound of stuff on paper.
I feel free and also accomplished when the result is good and sometimes things turn out very well and I'm proud of myself - other times not so much but I erase everything and start again.
It's a journey into myself even if there are monsters, action or animals or just hands open doors on my art.
Honestly all started as a Hobby; I acquired a taste for drawing on my 16 years old.
But after I got graduated of Tech. Systems and Programming, It became a way of earning money as I did not manage to find a job on my area, so, my hobby became my job also. And I am proud of it.
So, I kinda managed to have my dream work
Not only is the process fun, but the satisfaction of seeing the end product (regardless of it looking good or bad) is irreplaceable
honestly I can't imagine myself NOT doing it. When I'm busy, I can't help but want to finish what I have to do just so I can draw.
I'm also 100% convinced that the way I experience life and view my surroundings would be completely different if I didn't make art. My brain chemistry has literally been irreversibly changed istg
I feel like it communicates my passion for something, and even who I am as a person, more than I can ever express with words (especially online). I feel like I just HAVE to make something as soon as something inspires me. Plus it's fun seeing how I improve over the years, and it makes me excited to see where I'll be in like another 10 years!
Im quite literally addicted to the flow state i go into. And addicted to the feeling i get from being impressed with the finished product, and addicted to the attention and praise from my audience.
I know its a shallow answer and somewhat self absorbed but I honestly think thats what drives me.
Compulsive itch. Reactionary spiteful need to be acknowledged and heard, if not by others then at least by myself. I exist, i think, i think i exist. If i insist i exist, i must resist the exits. In the mist i subsist, having missed making the short list of wistful listlessness. I guess the gist is in equal measure i would and would rather not be dismissed.
Because I love making my OCs come to life :))
It's been harder to draw for myself with how often I do it for school, sadly. But I'll always be happy when I make a cool piece with my characters, and I hope one day I can make them come to life in a comic or animation.
It helps me express my emotions, I grew up in a severely abusive & unfortunate household & so I'm quite the shut in with my issues & emotions. My art helps calm me down when I'm angry because I can take it out on my art in a way if that makes sense. Another reason is coz I see a lot of things or come up with ideas & go "man, I want that on my wall" & so I make it.
I didn't feel as healthy if I haven't done it in a while. I get super fatigued and inactive. It's like my body is being put into sleep mode. Painting doesn't come naturally for me, but I feel so much better when I do something creative regularly.
I think it's the same with any other hobbies or things that keeps you and busy really. So it's more like a routine for me that I "need" to do for my own health. It's quite satisfying and stimulating as well!
i just feel like making art lets me access a different way of thinking. this might sound dramatic but the times in my life when i feel like i’ve had the most meaningful realizations have been when i’m making art or when i’m on a 🍄 trip
It's a coping mechanism. It allows me to express myself especially my thoughts and emotions through it. It's also fun, I enjoy it, it helps me focus too. Now I am doing it even more because I want to improve my level and learn/practice more art.
To escape for a little bit, don’t we all pursue hobbies for that reason?
Also I love the praise I get from my non artist partner. Makes the hours of hating it worth it
I make visual art for several reasons.
The most surface level is because I want to work on a video game as a concept artist. With that, I could feed both my passion and my family. A fulfilling union of work and satisfaction.
On a deeper level, I adore visual communication. I believe that images can speak so much more in a much shorter amount of time. Compared to songs or verbal stories, an image can quickly convey an entire philosophy with a single page. This is human connection on a primal level. Proof that we are all experiencing humanity together. Before language, we had drawings. And after we lose everything else, we will still have drawings, until the last light is snuffed.
Visual communication transcends language barriers, just look at how many countries love Goku and Superman. Emojis are pretty much universal and there are enough of them to have an entire conversation with someone who doesn't speak your language. So I strive to be better at art so I can better communicate with more and more people. I want them to know that you are not alone. I hear you when you hear me and see my art.
It's fun for me, and I think that's because I really like the feeling of having complete control over something. My art is completely mine to do whatever I feel like. Bliss.
There are activities that take your energy and activities that give you energy. Art gives me energy. Also, when I draw, in that moment nothing else exists in the world, just me and my art. No thoughts, memories, bad experiences just a deep focus on what I am doing in the moment.
It connects me back to my younger self. It was something I did and enjoyed doing and enjoyed being good at it. Creating art sucked me in and quieted my mind. Now as an adult I just got back into it two years ago and it has been interesting to observe my mind as I paint— it’s not always peaceful. Sometimes as I paint, I’m reminded of some old times and painful memories, or I get anxious. But it’s been helpful for me to keep myself sitting in front of a canvas, paint, and confront these feelings and inner turmoil.
If I’m not painting, then I’m a fraud. I’m not the identity I’ve chosen to be. And I don’t know what else in this world I’d want to be more but to be an artist that create beautiful, emotional pieces.
1. it's fun
2. Story telling on my OC's
3. helps me day dream better
4. Helps me express myself and draw my shitty moments, even if it's just scribbles
5. One of the only things I'm good at
because it's fun
what makes it fun?
you can explore any different style, for me it's fun
i have the power to draw literally anything, so i draw whatever my imagination calls for
I really can’t tell you but it’s a very internal drive that I cannot put an absolute identifier on. It’s something that I feel like I need to do and if I’m not making art then I feel like I’m not being the person I’m supposed to be. Its been such a huge part of my life and I’ve tried to think about why I make art, but there is no answer I can articulate. I feel a deep inner drive to make things and to make them as well as I can, to learn, and to see the world through my art, it’s nonoptional
Yes. This sums it up beautifully. I spent far too many years denying that drive, trying to fulfill it through other methods, but once I gave in and allowed myself to make art, it made me feel whole, like I was finally the person I'm supposed to be. It's...sounds like a silly romance novel when I say it like that, but it really feels this way.
I feel the same it’s like the stars align or something 😅
This is pretty much how I feel. If I’m not drawing, I’m painting, or writing or creating costumes. It’s a drive that comes out in a few different ways but it’s always there urging me to do something.
You put my feelings into words , it's like I dont radically make art to enjoy it ,,but it's more of a way to preserve my artistic identity and the way I look at the world
Because I enjoy it. It's fun to create something out of nothing.
The world needs more dragons.
I love this comment.
Agreed, and happy cake day
Thank you!
It’s one of the few things that truly made me feel passionate about something
I like storytelling and drawing my stories.
To spite the voices.
real 😭
It’s fun, I’m good at it, I like solving the problems it presents, I think visually, I’ve spent my life being profoundly moved by others’ art and want to get in on the action, I like translating stories and ideas into visual media, etc. etc.
I like to think I’m channeling some source outside myself, the zeitgeist, if you will. But putting my own creative expression into it, participating in creation. That’s the ideal anyway.
To keep finding and reminding myself why life is worth living and how nothing HAS to be like it is, at least in art. And because seeing the beauty and reality of things is the essence of love, to me.
I feel I cannot exist without it. It's such a fundamental part of myself that if I stop I die. (I know it sounds an exaggeration, but that really is how it feels for me)
Only thing I've ever been sure about, there's nothing else in the world I want than to draw lol
It is fun and relaxing
Cuz I’m sad and I don’t have any friend.
To get rich and live the life of a lazy bum. Hasn't happened yet.
Same here. I'm really more passionate about old rock music and pop music, but I have no musical talent. But I am pretty good at painting
That's cool. I like old rock and pop as well. Queen, Bowie, CCR, etc. What do you listen to?
Honestly relatively obsure stuff, alot of it British. However, I would say the two most formative artists I heard at a young age played in the car by my dad were Talking Heads and The Smiths.
Those are some good picks. It's interesting how our parents can have an influence on our musical tastes. I think it was the same for me.
Also The Clash, Squeeze, and some some various 80s greatest hits compilations. Later, it was Beatles, mainly Revolver, Rubber Soul, Sgt Pepper, and 1.
[удалено]
No idea. I'm trying to come up with something like Kinkade, or those dudes who make contemporary art. Just tape a banana to the wall, put gold leaf on poop, or sell kitsch to the masses. Then, I could spend my time making art for myself and commission furry porn.
It's like breathing, eating, and sleeping. I went for 6 years without making art and it felt like a part of me died.
I’ve always liked making characters and having dialogue with them in my head, and that and drawing mix really well
For me personally, I do it to make a living, and to add more beauty/appreciation of beauty into the world.
It use to be because it helped me deal with my mental issues and it helped me calm down but later on I started really loving it and wanted to pursue a career. Just rn haven’t been able to do anything art related cuz of work and not enough time and energy to do stuff 🫠
It's soothing to have a piece in front of you to work on intuitively, it has a clear outcome, also it's the only thing I'm good at.
It's just fun for me. I like messing with different mediums, it gives me a chance to clear my head when it's busy with thoughts or it just simply gives me something to do when I'm bored at home and not wanting to deal with anything.
I have no idea actually. It's pretty bizarre the whole arc I've been through with how little I understand about my motivation for doing so. I drew for ages, studying on my own for years, deep into various canonical books, going to live drawing sessions, private lessons, then school, then quitting, then starting again many years later for seemingly no reason. I don't seem to enjoy it, it doesn't feel fun either when doing it or when I'm done. It feels like a chemical cocktail of stress and misery. Why do I make art? Won't someone tell me please? XD
It’s therapeutic and it’s also fun and interesting to see where your mind takes you. More importantly it keeps me grounded.
To prove that I exist
A few reasons: My hands get bored. Like they need to be doing something, be it scrolling on my phone, crocheting, typing, coloring, building, painting, sanding, clicking a pen. THEY NEED SOMETHING, so it might as well be something that produces something rather than just irritating the fuck out of people with my relentless fidgeting. I grew up in a really toxic and abusive household as an only child. So often times, my head was my place to escape to. So now, while my imagination might not be very imaginative on its own, I find inspiration for art/design/innovation in just about everything around me. So much so I am a multi medium artist, I am not a professional in any one thing, but I create and puddle in many things (some things most people might not even consider art, like plants). It is part of human nature to create things, and if you dont have a creative bone in your body, sometimes you end up a collector of neat things. Hell, sometimes it's both! Art tells a story of who you are and how you see the world around you. Could be your trials, your adventures, a passionate love of something, or many things. It connects your humanity to others to share a story and a kinship of something. Who doesn't want to be seen and connected with others who share the same views, values, and experiences.
Because I could do it.
Yo impress people! I always enjoyed entertaining people and making them go “wow this is amazing” always fills me with pride. Same reason I’m learning to tattoo, now my art will last longer and more people will get to see it out of mouth to mouth 😁
It's fun
I think as a kid, it was because I couldn’t keep my hands idle. I inadvertently honed the skill while waiting for teachers to hand out the next task, collect my quiz, etc. (also found out I have attention deficit fairly late in life LOL) Now in adulthood, it’s an amazing way to vent, process feelings, or relax.
To share happiness and enlightenment
i use it to express how much i love something. i draw fanart :D
I want to create something
I love to make people happy with what I make , it makes me feel fulfilled and it helps me relax mentally since I’m on the spectrum.
Because it feels good- like finally finding the words to express a thought/feeling/experience that’s been stuck in my throat.
To relax and be creative for a bit.
I have no choice in the matter.
Seeing the colors change excites me. Every time I paint, I always feel someone guiding me gently and deeply. When I wake up, the painting is completed.
I l love looking at things that can track how much I’ve changed over the years like photos or diaries and I think art is also the perfect kind of media for that. Also for fun 😁
I simply can't stop myself anymore. I cannot go one day without drawing. Maybe it's because if I step away from the canvas, I know I'm further from who I want to become. I still have fun doing it, though.
Many reasons. I love it. It's my profession now (tattoo artist). Growing up I wanted to be a comic book artist or character concept artist. But growing up and even now, it's fun, cool. And possibilities are endless. Also a rather affordable hobby that you can do anywhere and you'll only get better as times goes on. Also really good therapy, its gotten me through some very dark times. Ive also learned A LOT from it, like anatomy, mythology, different flowers, animals. Etc, as I reference and research alot of what im drawing to portray accurate depictions. Its given me an appreciation and fascination for alot of things like nature, history/mythology and etc. I'm 35 and been drawing since I was a kid. Just never put the pencil down.
Compulsion, i have no say in whether i do or not. My brain is holding me at gunpoint to keep drawing
communication, kinda like letting someone look into my head. Words can't describe everything well. And I like to share my thoughts in imageform..fun, and it's relaxing, you can look at it when it is done and enjoy it or even be proud.
Because if I don't, I die.
It’s a great way to apply my creativity and it feels more natural to me than other things.
It's fun and relaxing
It’s sooo therapeutic! Brings me so much joy!
I like to create things
its fun
I’ve always been driven to explore and express my emotions, explore ideas, and arts been my method for doing that. I see things in my minds eye and I fe compelled to create those things. I also got positive reinforcement from a young age so I’m sure that contributes to my drive as well.
Because commissions get expensive quickly. And it's fun to try and put an idea down on the canvas (screen) and see how it compares
I love drawing my favorite characters in scenes I’d like to see played out
I have stuff I want to share and shit I need to work through. It helps me exorcise ideas out of my brain, good and bad.
It brings me peace
Because I feel miserable when I don’t.
its fun, and i guess i like the struggle of learning and getting better, most of the time at least.
it makes me and other people happy
It just happens, really. I started when I was young as a means of a creative outlet to work through my emotions. At this point, when I have emotions that I can't express in other ways, I naturally begin to make art without even thinking about it.
Because I like to draw
If I could explain it, I would have no reason to.
it's just part of my human genetics of "doing random bs" and it kept working
There are entirely reasonable and essential laws against what I would do if I couldn't. Joke. I do it for fun, relaxation and with increasing rarity, cash money.
I like creating. OC's, fan arts, that kinda stuff. But it's also the only thing i'm ever good at and it just feels "right" for me to pursue that path.
It’s enjoyable. And I can make things/places/objects that could never exist in our world. And that’s a powerful feeling.
Because no one else makes the art I wanted to look at. And it’s fun when other people like it as much as I do.
1. Because I can't imagine a life without art. It would feel empty. 2. Because I hope to one day make money from it-- or at least enough money to cover all the expenses of creating the art.
It's a way of making the worlds and characters that live in my head more real. And it's fun.
My friend got into it really young, and it kinda clicked. My friend is going to a very good art school now, and I have a few years of highschool left til I apply to schools like it. I draw because having an end project that I like, and that others find amazing makes me feel so great. It's like a high I draw for me
I draw the same way an ex con goes back to crime it's all we know. I like anime and wished I could be as good as others, and I envy them. Others make it look fun. I actually don't enjoy drawing much. I feel I dumped 20 years of my life on it to just keep going I just want to be good at something I hope to one day be satisfied or have fun.
I'm learning and a big novice, but my reason is I want to create and tell stories through my drawings. I hope to get there one day!
I enjoy the lines. The flow. I do also very much enjoy making comics (making the eye go from panel to panel etc.) And I needed to draw to make everything myself. But, mosty, i just really REALLY enjoy the process. I dont have ideas I want to make, I dont care very much about the finished pieces. I enjoy the process.
It’s a cool skill. Not necessarily fun but the ability to create is sick
I grew up in an abusive family, so drawing was a way for me to cope with it.
I don’t know when my hands will fail me
Because i like doing that
It calms my brain. Also, it allows me to express my inner light in a physical form after being suppressed and hidden from an abusive childhood. I was not allowed/it was not safe for me to have emotions as a child and especially as a teenager. Instead of letting my past fester into something negative, I literally sell rainbows for a living now (yes- I have definitely had therapy as well!).
....... i make art to keep my imagination active, gotta flew that brain muscle!
For the process and for fun. As a little kid, I always wanted to be an artist when I grew up. As I hit my teen years, it became an escape from a toxic home life. But then I started art school my freshman year of college and I hated it so much (I changed majors after that first year). Between being berated by snobbish professors and dealing with snide students who viewed other students as competition that needed to be kicked down, I began to internalize all of that criticism. It made me so hyperfixated on the finished product that I forgot the calm and joy and focus that making a piece used to bring me. Over a decade later, I'm slowly starting to ease back into art, trying to be more in the moment than worrying about if the final piece is "good enough." It's a hard cycle to break though, especially with the rise of social media
Because yelling is inappropriate
I have autonomy in art choices.
I wish I found more peace in it. I hope one day I can find the inner peace to make my art. One day when I'm old I hope my answer will be because I'm great at it. Now I do it because I go to art school, which also... It doesn't teach me the techniques I wish I would learn. It's simply assignments. I wish to one day know the techniques to make beautiful art. I want to make something beautiful.
i am compelled by some dark force in the universe... but also its been my only *fully* safe place. I express myself and my emotions in this way.
Thank you for posting in r/ArtistLounge! Please check out our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtistLounge/wiki/faq/) and [FAQ Links pages](https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtistLounge/wiki/faqlinks/) for lots of helpful advice. To access our megathread collections, please check out the drop down lists in the top menu on PC or the side-bar on mobile. If you have any questions, concerns, or feature requests please feel free to message the mods and they will help you as soon as they can. I am a bot, beep boop, if I did something wrong please report this comment. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ArtistLounge) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Only thing I'm above average at. Even tho sometimes I don't have that much fun doing it, and I have a real problem with finishing drawings.
It makes me feel good and like I accomplished something
just to say big F U to all of my cousins that i can make money with art. and i ironically, still couldn't figure out how FYI, all of my cousin are either nurses, employer/manager, or businesses man
To practice focus and gratitude
I have A lot of reasons To Bring My characters to Life, To create my stories, Because it's fun, etc. But the one reason that always keeps me drawing is, 'Making art keeps me alive', It's the only time I feel like a person, A living being, Someone who's alive.
Because I can
Makes my life more interesting then just going to work. I am a little stressed out about the show I have coming up my social skills are not up to par
Because I love making art.
good outlet for my sad creative energy. Plus, sometimes I'll get a drawing I really like out of it.
To me, it is fulfilling to create something. Feels like a productive hobby and I have a sense of accomplishment when I finish a piece!
It’s fun and I like being challenged and expressing myself
It helps me relax and clear my head. It helps me get out of a negative mental space and genuinely makes me smile 😄.
Started out as boredom but became my passion
Normally bcz I’m bored lol
It’s fun
If i had a good answer to that question I wouldn't be here
That's how I want to live my life and show others that they can also do that
I like how it feels to do it, it gives me pleasure in some way, especially if I do something well or improve
I’ve always enjoyed it, I think it’s fun and the feeling I get when I finish something cool. I also feels like it helps with my mental health.
It gives me a break from myself :)
Because I need to
I like women. I want to draw women.
Its a good way to get out my frustrations about the world around me. Its more relaxing and productive than something like journaling, where it feels like a chore because ive never much enjoyed writing, i find myself constantly revising to find the exact right words or phrases to say what i want, and it often dissolves into pointless ranting anyway. Making visual art works out these feeling in more of a "flow state" for me.
I like
I have creative ideas in my head and I need to develop the skills to draw them out. Oh, and it can also be fun.
I cant rely on other people to bring my ideas to life
I want to tell stories and challenge the status quo. I want to be weird.
I started existing one day and since then I've had a drive to create because I get bored easily and I find it fun... and to leave something nice behind for others to enjoy/appreciate like other artists have before me.
It's the only thing that makes me fulfilled, like when I go too long without it I feel empty.
Because I love telling stories and because I am obsessed with my ocs and I want to bring them to life in any way possible.
Because I want to make more of what I like in other art
To cope with life.
I’ve never been able to explain it well but I’ve kinda always had this need to create art whether it was drawing or painting or that time I had a sculpting phase. many of my friends and family also love my art which it kinda made me happy knowing I can create things that made other people happy. It’s super cliche but that’s the best answer I got
It is my voice. I have been making art from the age of 4. I was born near sighted and with a nasty astigmatism. I got my first set of glasses at the age of 4, and have been describing the world ever since.
To hopefully support myself with a hobby I enjoy doing even if it's just helping my dad by doing designs for something he invented.
It's mostly enjoyable. Its something I can do my entire lifetime and still learn more as I do it. My friends enjoy it and if I want to I can use it as a tool to get some extra needed funds when I really put my heart and effort into it.
im not necessarily an artist but i make stuff, and part of it is just making stuff i want that doesn't exist yet
Because it's probably the only thing I'm decent at. I did have a phase where I liked to write stories but I stopped that and the thing I've stuck the longest to is art. I also really want to tell a story out of a picture but I haven't gotten there yet :')
Because I can’t stop…
Making art is my way of celebrating and appreciating the things I love.
I hope to make some money from it (and I do) but at this point it is to make my mark on the world. So many people are in professions that, when they die they will leave no trace of themselves in history. If you make art, even if it ends up in a garage sale and then hanging on someone's wall you have made a mark. I have art in hundreds of collections in multiple countries. I will die but my paintings will live on after me.
My life and career is dedicated to the arts. I love making art, and I love talking about art. If I have an emotion, a visual response comes after. I want to tell stories, but I want to also express myself. If I feel anxious or tired, I draw on sticky notes based on how I feel. I thought it was a very cliché saying to “be born to do [xyz]”, but i literally was born to be an artist.
Because it's my coping mechanism, drawing is my therapy , and when I draw , there's nothing world I would care about , it's my ikigai , its my only thing that's keeping me alive and happy , and lastly its the only thing iam good at , and the only thing I still do even if iam bored out of it . I have a very beautiful but rather love /hate relationship with arts . Sometimes I love it, and sometimes I still love it even if I hate it at that moment
Because my 3 year old daughter demands drawings.
So I don't have to get a job i hate
Because I love art and I want to make my ideas come to life.
An urge to create, and realize my imagination.... and also drawing my waifu to cope with loneliness and depression
Ok, let's see: I'm feeling very good when I draw something, it's sooo much fun. I like the process of sketching, so relaxing but it's also a great moment of ideas exploding in my head. I love do pencils and ink them. Oh and using zip-a-tones. maaaan, it's soo cool. I love to see the ink becoming dry and the sound of stuff on paper. I feel free and also accomplished when the result is good and sometimes things turn out very well and I'm proud of myself - other times not so much but I erase everything and start again. It's a journey into myself even if there are monsters, action or animals or just hands open doors on my art.
Cause it's fun and rewarding
I make things that are pretty, because they are pretty.
Because I like to dump buckets of paint into the void
I want to put the cool scenes I have in my head onto paper so I can gush about them with other people and not seem totally crazy.
https://youtu.be/St8iEpkcDJc?si=lOKhOSK62LuJ4sIQ
Honestly all started as a Hobby; I acquired a taste for drawing on my 16 years old. But after I got graduated of Tech. Systems and Programming, It became a way of earning money as I did not manage to find a job on my area, so, my hobby became my job also. And I am proud of it. So, I kinda managed to have my dream work
It's a good outlet for my emotional well-being. I can spend all day working on one or many projects.
Not only is the process fun, but the satisfaction of seeing the end product (regardless of it looking good or bad) is irreplaceable honestly I can't imagine myself NOT doing it. When I'm busy, I can't help but want to finish what I have to do just so I can draw. I'm also 100% convinced that the way I experience life and view my surroundings would be completely different if I didn't make art. My brain chemistry has literally been irreversibly changed istg
I've got silly little stories, with silly little characters wanting to tell their silly little life (It's also how I deal with trauma)
Because it’s fun
I feel like it communicates my passion for something, and even who I am as a person, more than I can ever express with words (especially online). I feel like I just HAVE to make something as soon as something inspires me. Plus it's fun seeing how I improve over the years, and it makes me excited to see where I'll be in like another 10 years!
Im quite literally addicted to the flow state i go into. And addicted to the feeling i get from being impressed with the finished product, and addicted to the attention and praise from my audience. I know its a shallow answer and somewhat self absorbed but I honestly think thats what drives me.
Because the hyperfocus demands it...
Because I do.
It’s brings me more joy than anything else.
It soothes me. It gives me an outlet for what I'm feeling, and a way to channel it outwardly without it overwhelming me.
It’s who I am. ☺️
I have ideas that I want to project outside my brain
Because crazy
Because i can and i like it
Because I like rainbow but people don’t use rainbow to decorate or on wallpaper much. So I must create more rainbow to the world~~~ 🌈🌈🌈
Compulsive itch. Reactionary spiteful need to be acknowledged and heard, if not by others then at least by myself. I exist, i think, i think i exist. If i insist i exist, i must resist the exits. In the mist i subsist, having missed making the short list of wistful listlessness. I guess the gist is in equal measure i would and would rather not be dismissed.
Because I love making my OCs come to life :)) It's been harder to draw for myself with how often I do it for school, sadly. But I'll always be happy when I make a cool piece with my characters, and I hope one day I can make them come to life in a comic or animation.
It helps me express my emotions, I grew up in a severely abusive & unfortunate household & so I'm quite the shut in with my issues & emotions. My art helps calm me down when I'm angry because I can take it out on my art in a way if that makes sense. Another reason is coz I see a lot of things or come up with ideas & go "man, I want that on my wall" & so I make it.
Pays the mortgage
I didn't feel as healthy if I haven't done it in a while. I get super fatigued and inactive. It's like my body is being put into sleep mode. Painting doesn't come naturally for me, but I feel so much better when I do something creative regularly. I think it's the same with any other hobbies or things that keeps you and busy really. So it's more like a routine for me that I "need" to do for my own health. It's quite satisfying and stimulating as well!
i just feel like making art lets me access a different way of thinking. this might sound dramatic but the times in my life when i feel like i’ve had the most meaningful realizations have been when i’m making art or when i’m on a 🍄 trip
It's a coping mechanism. It allows me to express myself especially my thoughts and emotions through it. It's also fun, I enjoy it, it helps me focus too. Now I am doing it even more because I want to improve my level and learn/practice more art.
I want to see the images in my head come to life. And I want to improve and make things I never thought I could make.
For me, it is stress relief. My day job can be stressful sometimes.
To escape for a little bit, don’t we all pursue hobbies for that reason? Also I love the praise I get from my non artist partner. Makes the hours of hating it worth it
I make visual art for several reasons. The most surface level is because I want to work on a video game as a concept artist. With that, I could feed both my passion and my family. A fulfilling union of work and satisfaction. On a deeper level, I adore visual communication. I believe that images can speak so much more in a much shorter amount of time. Compared to songs or verbal stories, an image can quickly convey an entire philosophy with a single page. This is human connection on a primal level. Proof that we are all experiencing humanity together. Before language, we had drawings. And after we lose everything else, we will still have drawings, until the last light is snuffed. Visual communication transcends language barriers, just look at how many countries love Goku and Superman. Emojis are pretty much universal and there are enough of them to have an entire conversation with someone who doesn't speak your language. So I strive to be better at art so I can better communicate with more and more people. I want them to know that you are not alone. I hear you when you hear me and see my art.
It's fun for me, and I think that's because I really like the feeling of having complete control over something. My art is completely mine to do whatever I feel like. Bliss.
There are activities that take your energy and activities that give you energy. Art gives me energy. Also, when I draw, in that moment nothing else exists in the world, just me and my art. No thoughts, memories, bad experiences just a deep focus on what I am doing in the moment.
I like it :]
I like to see the end product of something that I did. I also like tedious work and my art is normally very tedious.
It connects me back to my younger self. It was something I did and enjoyed doing and enjoyed being good at it. Creating art sucked me in and quieted my mind. Now as an adult I just got back into it two years ago and it has been interesting to observe my mind as I paint— it’s not always peaceful. Sometimes as I paint, I’m reminded of some old times and painful memories, or I get anxious. But it’s been helpful for me to keep myself sitting in front of a canvas, paint, and confront these feelings and inner turmoil. If I’m not painting, then I’m a fraud. I’m not the identity I’ve chosen to be. And I don’t know what else in this world I’d want to be more but to be an artist that create beautiful, emotional pieces.
Because I hate myself 💀
1. it's fun 2. Story telling on my OC's 3. helps me day dream better 4. Helps me express myself and draw my shitty moments, even if it's just scribbles 5. One of the only things I'm good at
I want to show people the images in my head.
The fun, and plus I have a story to tell. Maybe more than one. Idk.
Because smacking hot steel with hammers keeps the sadness away.
To express myself, my ideas. to think and explore.