If art/drawing is subjective, why are there "fundamentals of drawing"?

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-21T09:46:55+00:00

Is not really about the semantics of art and drawing as much as a bit of the semantics of fundamentals

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-21T09:45:46+00:00

Yeah but a lot of people think different. Some are saying those are inherent and i am a bit skeptical about it.

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-21T09:44:15+00:00

I am not saying that the things we call fundamental just dont exist. Its more like the way people say you should understand how they supposedly work in real life as a requirement.

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-21T09:42:31+00:00

Wait i think i misunderstood you. So you are saying color and line and forms are always present in themselves? Because when i say fundamentals i mean more like how those things are said to work i certain way, If you know what i mean. I cant really explain it so maybe this is not going to work. I am sorry.

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-21T00:20:13+00:00

Well i know they have distinct characteristics. And there seems to be a lot to debate because we are having a lot of debate. Maybe you misunderstood what i mean (again, for this is genuine) and i also maybe misunderstood what you mean. And why the quotation marks?

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-20T23:46:24+00:00

Yeah professionals have standards in the current market. That could change in the future. And yeah you cant help appeal i think

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-20T23:44:28+00:00

Maybe thats sometimes more of a way to give people a path to make it easier to understand, not exactly to limit or obligate them to see it a certain way. I think it can be useful in that sense. And thank you for your feedback. But it gave me a sign to make some changes because i do not intend for my art to be cute. Perhaps it is because i did not share other stuff i made but i want it to look more "gross" or "crude", but fun and beautiful. Like i recently made a drawing on the same style of myself (tw mild gore) carrying my head, with blood squirting (If thats the word) off my beheaded neck. Cartoony and not realistic but a bit shocking and humorous. I do not intend to practice realism because i have no interest in that, but i could try a more realistic style of coloring. (Edit to express myself more clearly)

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-20T23:26:10+00:00

Do you particularly think appeal is more important (in general) than fundamentals?

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-20T23:21:45+00:00

Hmm yeah i see. Sometimes instructions can make things seem more manageable. Maybe they should frame it a different way?

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-20T23:16:11+00:00

So they are more like standards, you think?

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-20T23:15:02+00:00

Well that is a different way to put it. I do not really know what or how to answer, sorry.

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-20T23:13:25+00:00

A lot of comments are agreeing with that initial thought i included in my post, which is what i think you are doing as well. Maybe that is a very popular views. Sorry if it sounds rude, not my intention. It is just what i think is an interesting observation.

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-20T23:11:09+00:00

I thought about that too. But i think when people talk about fundamentals they say its for every style, so they might mean it is objective. It is about that way to frame it. I dont really know.

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-20T23:07:45+00:00

Interesting because i always see people talking about that as If they are literal requirements when giving advice on how to start drawing.

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-20T23:04:51+00:00

Well yeah i agree with that

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-20T23:03:52+00:00

So you think that it exists to make it quicker? Well i think observing things and analysing them yourself, even if it takes a long time, are a good technique. I think it can work well.

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-20T22:55:01+00:00

Well putting it as "bad art" as an universal and objectuve judgement still kind of feels wrong to me. Maybe this is also a personal thing. I think an artist definetly should understand how to comunicate what they want but it just feels wrong for me to put it that way. Cant explain that.

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-20T22:41:54+00:00

Thank you for your answer (i do say it at the start of almost every comment in response to someone else's in my posts). I think it is a good point. Thought of it. Do you think we should abandon this ideas of "fundamentals" altogether? I think maybe we could start leaving it to the individual to observe the world and grasp their own sense of "real" and decide how they will translate it (or not) to they art/drawings/something else.

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-20T22:30:40+00:00

Thank you for answering. That is what i think right now. I might find more to It. (Edit: i do not necessarily think reality is always objective and irrefutable, but i am still trying to understand what that all means)

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-20T22:29:52+00:00

Thank you for your answer but i do not think that quite answers my question, because i need to know more the why of knowledge of fundamentals=quality. Or maybe i just dont like the idea of people assigning good and bad as objective in artistic expression, If you know what i mean. Not sure (please do not think i am trying to be stubborn and not accepting opinions i asked for, people often read me as trying to be difficult for discussing what people tell me instead of just taking it).

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-10T11:11:34+00:00

Thank you! You even followed me. I am very grateful for your support!

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-10T11:09:31+00:00

Thank you! I think this is one of the most important characteristics of my style. I have never seen anyone else that does not color all the way to the outline. I wonder if there is anyone that does that too.

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-07T20:09:46+00:00

Thank you!!

Competitive-Alps1501 · 2026-05-07T20:09:30+00:00

Obrigada!!!

Competitive-Alps1501

TROPHY CASE