Art is Pretty Wack, Whether that be Good or Bad is up to You

Ever evolving, ever growing, art has come from its mud splattered origins on cave walls to virtual reality, where you paint in a landscape not seen without spending thousands of dollars (that quite frankly, you probably couldn't afford to spend) on the right headset and computer system. Art has offered an escape from the trials and tribulations of life to billions of people worldwide since the dawn of civilization.

Cave painting done by spitting mud / paste over one's hand to leave an imprint behind.
often done by members of a family or tribe
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VS.

VR painting of a mythical beast
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Marshall McLuhan said, "Societies have often been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication." (McLuhan 9). This can be evident by the diversity in which art and artistic ideas are delivered throughout the history of humans, whether it be the aforementioned cave paintings depicting successful hunts or stories of the dangers of the wild, a poem of unrequited love written from one smitten man to a woman who couldn't be less interested, oil or acrylic portraits of families hung over fireplaces, or a large window graphic posted to advertise a sale held by a money grabbing corporation. These different forms of media have shaped the way people of different cultural backgrounds view fine, contemporary, or street art. Perception of that media may also affect the personal artistic preferences that people may hold to one form of art over another.

A poem Catullus wrote to Lesbia, speaking of his unrequited love following her infidelity
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Now, that may come to show why you should care about the major impact of art throughout civilization, and may allow you to reflect on how it may have effected your perception of media while growing up and living your life. But, as this is my blog, I will now tell you how art has influenced my life, and what kind of media I prefer in my own artistic world.

Growing up in the early 2000s, I was surrounded heavily by fantasy and sci-fi content - mostly thanks to my dad for reading me those kinds of books for a bedtime story, a few of which being the Witch and Wizard novels by James Patterson, Enders game by Orson Scott Card, and Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling - which heavily influenced the media that I am interested in today.

Nowadays, some my favorite media still falls in line with what I was most exposed to in my childhood, some of my favorite book series being high fantasy, such as the Throne of Glass novels by Sarah J. Maas and the Way of Kings compendium by Brandon Sanderson. These series both encapsulate heavy world building and research into different cultures and political ties in an alternate world where the supernatural play an important part in the furthering of the main characters goals.

The completed ToG series
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The books so far in the WoK series, 7 more books still need to be written
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I have also been heavily influenced by Dungeons and Dragons, an interactive role playing game where you get to make your own character and insert yourself into a world of entirely new making where you have the tools at your hand to make a huge difference in the storyline. The game also gives you the option of using the tools and powers at your disposal to either become the world saving hero of the story, or the world ending villain.

Some of the incredible art used for official gameplay items
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A lot of the work that I like to do - or take for commissions - incorporates a lot of fantasy material, falling heavily in line with DnD and character building, as well as focusing on the scary or supernatural. I really like to take characters that I make, or the characters that I really like from different media sources, and draw them or recreate them with my own stylistic flare.

A rough sketch of one of my DND characters

A finished commission of a creature called a “Tainted One” for a client’s campaign.

Everyone wants to be something bigger than they are, to be the hero of their own story, and maybe even someone else’s. They want to be able to say that they have made an impact on the world, and have been able to help many people through their actions. I believe that that is why I, and so many other people, grow attached to fantasy and sci-fi media, because the characters that are often in those stories are larger than life and are seen as hero’s. I want to be able to have that kind of impact on someone or some place, maybe not to the extent of which the characters in the media that I consume do, but I want to be able to say that I did something good and made a positive difference in someone’s life. Being able to draw, write, or otherwise incorporate into those examples of media allows me, even for one small moment when I’m not out living my everyday life, to feel like I’m something other than myself, someone bigger, stronger, and capable of making that difference I want to make.

Art, in my definition of the word, has been an outlet where I am able to escape my own reality to make something beautiful, to be someone different, or to try to impact others so that they too may feel the drive to make a difference in the world today.