So one thing that I can't stress enough is that most of the time, older artists are going to give you the advice and/or order that "you cannot have a style at your age". While I understand their points and agree with some of them, on the whole I have to disagree.

As artists, we are to branch out. We should not be afraid to try new things. If you're a painter, give sculpture a shot. If you're a cartoonist that works with computer a lot, give printmaking a try. If you're a...well you get my point. Trying is not a bad thing to do and you should not be afraid to try even if your work sucks. You can at least go back and say "Well yeah, I have actually given sculpture a shot" or whatever. However, don't give up on your own individuality. A style is what makes you you. Some professors and teachers are so caught up in "Oh look at this Renaissance painter's work and try and copy it. BE LIKE HIM! BE LIKE HER! BLA BLA BLA!" it just makes me sick!

An observation I've made: A majority of the time, cartoonists are shunned in the art world. We're too simplistic. Our work is flat. Lacks detail. Takes to little time. Whatever. The list goes on. And so my biggest issue in the art world is that everywhere I turn, if I try to do something cartoony I get fussed at. If I dunno about an old artist's style like Van Gough or whoever, I get scoffed at. Then I get yelled at because...well to be frank...I'm simply don't care about Art History that much. They say that I need inspiration from the great masters. What's wrong with today's artists? Yeah, I know that everything leads back to the original great artists. But there is nothing wrong with me sitting down, looking at the artwork of like Jim Lee, Butch Hartman, Ben Caldwell, and other artists from today. I like their work. THEIR WORK inspires me. I can't sit down and look at an old romanticism painting and feel inspired. I'm sorry. I just do not care who did them, why they did them, and when they did them. Yeah, they're fun to look at. Sure, you can learn a lot from them. But if I don't care about them then you cannot sit here and force me to become inspired by something that I am clearly not inspired by.

I urge you artists, young and old, stop focusing so much on exploring so many new and different and exciting genres that you get lost. Find something you're passionate about. Find a style that you adore and improve yourself in it. For example, I love cartoons and kids. I intend to do something in that area be it animation for cartoons to logo designs for kid related products. I love kid stuff and I know what kids do and do not go for. It's who I am! So why would I spend time learning to paint so realistically that it looks like a photograph? Why am I going to waste my time doing something I would be unhappy with and never intend to go into a career in? If I wanted to learn something just once and as a quick hobby, sure. But I hate when people think that if you don't know every style then you're a bad artist. A famous french 5 star gourmet chef may look down at the diner chef and scoff. But the diner chef may just love diner food. They're passionate about it and so they pursue it. Same with the 5 star famous chef. He likes gourmet food and so he pursues it. There is nothing wrong with that.

Okay, I know I sound a bit hypocritical there considering that when I don't like an art style I come down hard on it. But I don't sit here and presume to tell the artist to change. I can't stand the style of Ed, Edd, and Eddie. But just because I don't like it doesn't mean everyone else in the world hates it. Some people love it. The artist is entitled to his or her own style.

In the past few weeks, I've been called immature because I don't like certain colors. I was told that as an artist we should love all colors or we're not real artists. I've been told I'm a difficult student because I didn't know a fact about one of the great master artists and because I don't care about art history. It bothers me. It really does. Maybe it's just because me and said professor who shall remain nameless do not click...at all...but I'm passionate about finding individuality and doing what makes you happy. Yes, you should try new things. Yes, you shouldn't be afraid of using different colors even if you don't like them. But no, just because you don't like certain styles or couldn't give two craps about the great masters does not mean that you are a bad artist.

Follow your heart.