How do you, as artists, respond when people commend you on your art? Cause I'm going to be honest, compared to the average person I am good drawer. Maybe on these forums I'm average, but compared to the the world I'm pretty good. And I get so tired when people say “Oh, you're a good drawer” and my only response is some modest chuckle and then “thanks”. I would say something else but everything else I can say will make me sound conceited. I remember once ages ago I responded with “*chuckle* I know” in the most modest way I could and the woman was like “You know? Hmph!” I mean of course I know! I'm been drawing my whole life, I'd know if I was good at drawing or not! So what else can I say? What do you say?

That's why I don't like to let people look at my stuff when I'm drawing on the train or something.
There IS no good answer apart from “thanks”.
Hahaha, maybe you should say: “You think so? $50 and you can have it. $100 and I'll draw your portrait.”

ParkerFarker
“Oh, you're a good drawer”

Is this just an Australian thing? I've always wondered… What is a “drawer” anyway? :)

I don't know if this would really be a modesty thing, but I really can't stand it when someone is looking at what I'm doing while I'm creating it. I don't like it when people see my unfinished work. However, in response to the topic at hand, I am actually pretty modest about how people complement my stuff. Personally, it's just nice to hear someone like what I do and I'll take the complement.

ozoneocean

ParkerFarker
“Oh, you're a good drawer”

Is this just an Australian thing? I've always wondered… What is a “drawer” anyway? :)

Is it? Well a “drawer” is someone who draws… but I guess that's covered by “artist”. When I was living in America I never noticed anyone correcting me cause I'm sure at some point I said “drawer”… but… maybe I didn't… Looks like it's time for some GOOGLE-ACTION!
edit: Well wikipedia recognizes the artist version of the word but merriem-webster does not. And that is the extent of my research.

Well being an Aussie myself, of course, I've always wondered. :)

eh, i like to show it off sometimes.my mood kinda shifts. sometimes it kinda annoys me too. but isnt that what all the great artists were like? really moody, unpredictable buttheads? i mean that's kinda a good sign for us, isnt it?

and i've heard “drawer” over here, but never really by people who are artists themselves.

i remember there was this art show in highschool and i put some painting in annonamously . then some of my friends were looking at it and saying it was hot and stuff like that and i just stood there and was like “ yea it is” cuz they didnt know i made it . then later i kinda regret that and maybe i should have taken credit , but maybe its more cool to go unnoticed.
so then later i started drawing in pubs n outdoors and everywhere , i would go arounfd drunk and ask girls if i could draw there portrait . heheh . that was just stupid ! plus i lost most of those sketchbooks . Doing art realy sucked before the internet , i would have to trick peoppe into looking at my stuff .
with the internet its much better , plus i can act like a tottal ass !!!

I ran into this yesterday at work. I post my sketches and digital paintings on my facebook account, and an employee from a different department apparently had a chance to see a couple of them (since I dun' know her, I'm guessing it was looking over the shoulder of someone on my friends list).

In any case, she said “I've been following your art on facebook. You're very talented!” My response was pretty typical for myself- I kinda looked down, blushed, and said “yeah, I like to draw from time to time.”

So I kinda shift it away from a qualitative assessment of value into a behavioral conversation. Throw a couple more sentences in there about how long I've done it, and then some of the downsides of it opens up for a segue into less impressive parts of life. Ideally, if I'm in the mood, it makes an opening to turn an awkward compliment into a conversation that takes the focus off of me :)

I figure “from time to time” is a good substitute for “it's a compulsive habit that consumes 80% of my day.”

I only wish I got comments like that on the site. It could just be the way my comics are at the moment (p.o.s.'s). I can do pretty nice cartoons off site. Got entire sketchbooks, some of which I have lost, full of good crap like that.

In the world I consider myself above averge too. On here hmm I don't know I've never really tried on DD but I'm guessing averge just like PF. When ever I am givin a good word on my work I look at it and tell the person all it's faults. Then they will give me one of two answers, “Your too hard on yourself I could never do anything like that,” or “Well this (insert noun/s) looks good.”

As for drawer

PIT_FACE
and i've heard “drawer” over here, but never really by people who are artists themselves.

That is pretty much what I've seen. I've also seen that little kids say it much more than adults. It is something that Americans grew out of.

People tend to be more impressed with the time it takes me to draw something rather than how it actually looks. I don't really mind them watching me or complimenting me, it's when they ask “Who/what -is- it exactly?” that bugs me because I'd rather not go into detail about my kooky little characters. Though it's mad awkward when it's like, someone on a plane commenting on my art because plane rides are awkward enough for me as it is. You're blocking me from the bathroom, don't tell me I should be in the newspapers right now, old man.

Compliments freak me out D: I was once finishing off some art after school for some project and then all these people started passing through the room and each one of them would come over, look at what I was doing and go “wow, that is SO good! How do you draw like that? Etc, etc…”. I just stood there having a mini panic attack, it was the most terrifying experience of my life!

Luckily there's always deviantArt if you ever find your ego growing too big.

In the UK a drawer is something you keep your underpants in, but there are some people who bunked off school, who might call you a drawer-er.

If anyone compliments my work I try to say nothing, or thank you at most, because I'm actually thinking “How can you say this garbage is any good? Can't you see it sucks?” but I don't want to say that because I respect their opinion.

GracehFaceh
You're blocking me from the bathroom, don't tell me I should be in the newspapers right now, old man.

You sound exactly like a character from a spaghetti western! If spaghetti westerns were set on planes, that is.

I'm surrounded by people who don't draw. Whenever they see me in the act and say something like, “Wow, you're a really good at drawing” I normally just shrug and respond, “I try.” Like others have mentioned I see too many flaws in my art, and feel like I still have a lot to learn. @.@ and I really do try my hardest.

And thankfully I don't hear ‘drawer,’ ever. If I did I'd correct the person's grammar =p

I've never been complimented on my drawing (not art, as art implies some degree of skill) but when people compliment my short stories my response depends on who gave me the compliment and what mood I'm in. They could get anything from “Better than anything you'll ever make…but thats not saying much.” to “Thanks, but it could be better” and when I'm felling particularly full of my self “Quit reading that, you're not worthy.”

Yeah sometimes I point out the flaws buuutt usually for me it's just the shrug-thanks routine really. It just bothers me, I want to say something unpredictable that's not cocky!

For most people, they pretty just get a “thanks” in return. But since I've been doing a couple of drawing classes in university, I'm much more open and honest about what I think of my work during class critiques (after I've heard what other people have to say first; I don't want their initial impressions getting tainted by my explanation of what I intended). I'm still pretty modest, but I do take pride in things that I know I've outdone myself on or that I know I've done really well. Never to the point of adopting a “holier than thou” attitude, of course; more along the lines of “I like how this apple turned out. I put a lot of effort into it and it came out exactly how I wanted it to.”

I used to get freaked out by compliments, too. We're always taught how to take criticism well, but never how to take compliments well. It doesn't help that you can't engage a non-artist in an actual conversation about your work even if you're dying to explain it to someone.

I always smile and thank them for the compliment.

I mean, I've been drawing as long as I or anyone in my family can remember, so it's just been a normal thing in my life; I draw something, someone out of the blue says it's nice or something like that, and I smile and thank them for it. It's like thanking someone for passing the salad dressing at dinner, an automatic polite response.

But, unlike, the salad dressing, I am /actually/ thankful that someone took the time to tell me what I'm working on is good. I dunno, I'm a quiet person, so it always means a lot to me when someone notices that I'm working on something and takes the time to stop and say something. ^^

But, eh… I'm probably just too easy to please… when I won first prize in the regional juried art show I screamed “OH MY GOD” when they called my name and had the derpy-ist smile plastered on my face for the rest of the night. XD;

Also, drawer. The only people over the age of 10 I've ever heard say that were either from Long Island or another country… so that could definitely be an Aussie thing. O:

I get an erection :)

im gunna start using that word “DRAWER” sounds less pretantious than “artist” and more fun than “illustrator” but not as cool as “GRAPHITE WARRIOR”

Off topic, but

lothar
“GRAPHITE WARRIOR”

Made me smile. : D

The Gravekeeper
For most people, they pretty just get a “thanks” in return. But since I've been doing a couple of drawing classes in university, I'm much more open and honest about what I think of my work during class critiques (after I've heard what other people have to say first; I don't want their initial impressions getting tainted by my explanation of what I intended). I'm still pretty modest, but I do take pride in things that I know I've outdone myself on or that I know I've done really well. Never to the point of adopting a “holier than thou” attitude, of course; more along the lines of "I like how this apple turned out. I put a lot of effort into it and it came out exactly how I wanted it to."

I used to get freaked out by compliments, too. We're always taught how to take criticism well, but never how to take compliments well. It doesn't help that you can't engage a non-artist in an actual conversation about your work even if you're dying to explain it to someone.

yeah, I agree with everything there, but what you say is good. Maybe next time someone compliments me I'll say “Yeah I like how it turned out”. That's good. That is good.

And Graphite Warrior is an awesome name.

ozoneocean
“drawer”

Of course, that word get's a hole new meaning once you add the word “top” in front of it.

Product Placement

ozoneocean
“drawer”

Of course, that word get's a hole new meaning once you add the word “top” in front of it.

Oooooh. Naughty fello. With your undergarment drawer.

Either that or you were trying to be really british. Lol. Otherwise i think you mean top shelf. Otherwise im correcting myself and going around in circles. Otherwise you were trying to be really british…

Same
Oooooh. Naughty fello. With your undergarment drawer.

I either that or you were trying to be british. Lol. Otherwise i think you mean top shelf. Otherwise im correcting myself and going around in circles. Otherwise you were trying to be british…

He does mean Top Drawer because he knows how to flog a dead horse until ther's nothing left but sun-bleached bone.

Ironscarf
sun-bleached bone.

Ewwwwwwwww.

lothar
“GRAPHITE WARRIOR”

Awesome.

I don't like getting compliments but I love giving them. I home in on people when they are drawing. I love discussioning others peoples' work. It goes something like, how they did this or did they find that easier than this way of doing it.


@Same: PP was refering to something that was on this site long ago in a far off place. Your ignorance will incite him to rant about the good ol'days XD

The Flying Green Monkey
@Same: PP was refering to something that was on this site long ago in a far off place. Your ignorance will incite him to rant about the good ol'days XD

He hasn't stopped ranting about them yet!

Aaaaaaaah. Like how long ago?

Same
Aaaaaaaah. Like how long ago?

Over 18 months ago I think. It was some kind of dodgy sub forum and eventually it had to be put out of it's misery because it was dragging the site down with it.