What is the Definition of Art?

[The-Great-One]

Hello Newgrounds Art creators. I would like to share a little something with you.

For those who don't know me I would like to introduce myself. My name is The-Great-One and I am the chief editor of The Interviewer account here on Newgrounds. It is where I and a few others interview the famous artists and members of Newgrounds.

If you read the Interview with the Audio Portal: Defining Music, I made an open thread asking the different members of the Audio Portal and Audio Forum about what music is and why they create it.

I have also been pondering the definition, creation, and inspiration behind art. So I decided to choose a few artists to ask further questions for in an interview which can be read here. However like the past interview, I want a thread here to question more of the artists, so here we go.

Q: When did you first become introduced to art and in what form?
A:

Q: What first inspired you to create art?
A:

Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of art?
A:

Q: When it comes to your art, where do you begin? How does the creative process start and when does the creation become finished?
A:

Q: Is there any other artist or person you look to as a guide or mentor?
A:

I would greatly appreciate it if you could answer my questions. Although I do have my own thoughts and opinions, after the interview they have changed, and I don't doubt that after reading your answers I will have learned much more.

[sTiker01]

Ok I'll bite. For starters, I haven't posted anything on Newgrounds, on the account of my laziness...but that doesn't mean I don't plan to.

1. When I was young, I was exposed to art very quickly. My parents hang paintings and sketches created by friends such as Santos Balmori, and family, my great grandmother Fellie. It was just a part of my home, my life, and my schooling; I could never really escape it.

2. Most likely said paintings and surprisingly cartoons. I don't know for sure because I was very young. I think I was just happy to create something.

3. My definition of art is a creation with visual appeal and effort put into it. It's not limited to paints and pens. But then again, EVERYTHING IS NOT ART. Whoever thought up of that idea is a moron in my opinion...I'm probably gonna get scolded for that...

4. My creative process begins more often than not on a whim, a flashbulb idea so to speak. Once I get the idea, I just expand from there; adding, changing, and discarding parts. This process can go for as long as it needs to until I am finally satisfied with the finished product. But that's just me!

5. I really like the art made by Jean Michael Basquiat, not sure why but it always draws me in. And I also really appreciate the cartoon drawings created by Danny Antonucci.

I hope this helps and good luck finding more artists!

[Lintire]

Art is a copout term used by professional and amateur masturbators alike in a desperate attempt to give value to otherwise worthless vomit.

There are good pictures, there are interesting pictures, and there are shitty pictures. Anything else can be as safely ignored as those assholes who are adamantly entrenched in their belief in that all digital pictures are worthless because of that nifty ctrl+z function.

No, I am not shitting you. Those motherfuckers exist.

An entire self-perpetuating culture of bullshit has sprung up around this fucking term and I'd rather choke on your mother's fat hairy engorged clitoris before I ever participate in it.

sup motherfuckers

[Ludic]

Q: When did you first become introduced to art and in what form?
A: Pretty sure I was around 8 and my buddy bought Dragon Ball Z, not sure which one, guessing it was around the first ten.
And of course I wanted one as well since it looked pretty neat.

Q: What first inspired you to create art?
A: Dragon ball, Changed swiftly to other random comic books though.

Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of art?
A: Well, to me, art is something visual that can be interpreted as something, good art on the other hand is something that takes skill, bad art is abstract, fractal, photography and such. Just my opinion, but sure, it's still art.

Q: When it comes to your art, where do you begin? How does the creative process start and when does the creation become finished?
A: Usually I look around on CGhub, deviantart, conceptart etc until I get an idea. But I could equally well just be in school and
and day dream my way to something. And of course I'll do the occasional doodle around til the shapes become something,
From there on I usually draw on that for an hour a day while working on studies or another illustration or whatever until itäs done.

Q: Is there any other artist or person you look to as a guide or mentor?
A: Tons. But as a real "mentor" I suppose my buddy Connor Adams and Peter Mohrbacher, both have helped me greatly through paintovers and critique and inspiration.

[M-Maher]

At 6/7/12 12:53 AM, The-Great-One wrote:

Q: When did you first become introduced to art and in what form?

A: I kinda introduced myself to it, I was 6 and interested in super sentai shows, at the time thought they were pretty cool so I thought I'd go draw them.

Q: What first inspired you to create art?

A: Power Rangers

Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of art?

A: if a human made it, its art.

Q: When it comes to your art, where do you begin? How does the creative process start and when does the creation become finished?

A: I have an idea and I just do it, If I lose interest then I go onto the next drawing and scrap the last.

Q: Is there any other artist or person you look to as a guide or mentor?

A: Yoji Shinkawa, Ashley wood and my brain.

[radiodark]

Q: When did you first become introduced to art and in what form?

A: I always adored art classes in school, and when I was little my grandmother would take me to the museums in DC. We started out looking at the impressionists, I think- as a littling I was in love with Monet's depiction of light for some reason, but we'd also go to anything else that looked interesting. Also I think children's books probably had an impact on my aesthetic. Neither of my parents are hugely artistic, although my father is a decent woodworker.

Q: What first inspired you to create art?

A: I've been making art longer than I remember. Whether it was a stack of crayons or a lump of sculpey or what that came first, I have no idea.

I should probably mention though that I didn't make anything particularly good until I got to college and took classes that explained things properly. I've known a lot of potentially good artists that assume that just because they aren't instantly talented off the bat that they'll never be good- this is a horrible way to think. Good art takes shitloads of practice and lessons help enormously.

Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of art?

A: Encyclopedia Brittanica calls it "the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others". This seems a reasonable starting place. If there are exceptions to to this definition I don't care enough to argue.

Q: When it comes to your art, where do you begin? How does the creative process start and when does the creation become finished?

A: I have a vague concept in my head, but it's kind of fuzzy. I grab whatever art media the idea seems to need, and I
try to make the idea real and figure out what should go in the fuzzy areas. Sometimes the idea changes completely in this process- that's just fine. I listen to the piece and I listen to the idea behind it, trying to get a feel for what it needs. Sometimes I figure it out.

Every once in a while I'll work the other way- just doodling or equivalent methods in non-drawing media until something interesting seems to arise from the work.

A work is done when it feels balanced and there's nothing left to do. Failing that, it's done when I'm so sick of it I never want to see it again.

Q: Is there any other artist or person you look to as a guide or mentor?

A: Not really. I have a bunch of people whose art I like and a ton of teachers who've taught me well, but none that stand out as people I want to imitate in any way- no one whose words I would take without questioning their applicability to my own practice.

[ChocolateKitteh]

At 6/7/12 12:53 AM, The-Great-One wrote: Hello Newgrounds Art creators. I would like to share a little something with you.

Hello The-Great-One! :3

For those who don't know me I would like to introduce myself. My name is The-Great-One and I am the chief editor of The Interviewer account here on Newgrounds. It is where I and a few others interview the famous artists and members of Newgrounds.

If you read the Interview with the Audio Portal: Defining Music, I made an open thread asking the different members of the Audio Portal and Audio Forum about what music is and why they create it.

I have also been pondering the definition, creation, and inspiration behind art. So I decided to choose a few artists to ask further questions for in an interview which can be read here. However like the past interview, I want a thread here to question more of the artists, so here we go.

Q: When did you first become introduced to art and in what form?

A: Err.. I guess the first form of art that I actually recognized as art were the cartoons I used to watch as a kindergarten child or that one book that my uncle gave me and my siblings when we were very small c: I leanrt reading with that book and I was totally proud when I could read before all the others at school xD (Ok that was off-topic). Oh and I guess the first songs I heard.. which were some old Bollywood songs... But I didn't recognize them as art yet... I think

Q: What first inspired you to create art?

A: Well, my sandbox friend could draw so nicely for her age and I wanted to learn that too c: So she taught me and since then I've been practicing!

Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of art?

A: Well.. Anything can be art.. Anything where you put some sort of effort into and give it a meaning.. I guess. People always think that it has to look "asthetic" or "good" or "pretty" but that's not the case. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder and tastes differ :/

Q: When it comes to your art, where do you begin? How does the creative process start and when does the creation become finished?

A: I get a certain idea and then start with the lineart, then colour it and trace the lines with a pen or I just colour and trace the lineart digitally or when there's no lineart I start with a rouch sketch and then start painting it over as the way I want it to be...
And my creation is finished when.. Erm, well, when it looks like in my vision, obviously^^'

Q: Is there any other artist or person you look to as a guide or mentor?

A: Not really as a guide or mentor.. But I get influenced by a lot of people's art. For example, I do lately bubbles and sparkles on my latest cartoons. I got inspired by Apofiss and ValaSedai (both deviantART).

I would greatly appreciate it if you could answer my questions. Although I do have my own thoughts and opinions, after the interview they have changed, and I don't doubt that after reading your answers I will have learned much more.

Hmm.. I hope you still did! :D

[Troisnyx]

Heys! Mind if I barge in?

Q: When did you first become introduced to art and in what form?
A: When I was in kindergarten. Much of it was drawn, though we did get involved in craft every now and then.

Q: What first inspired you to create art?
A: The fact that I was able to copy simple pictures when I was 6. Some people saw this as a hint to later still-life works, I guess.

Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of art?
A: A thing of beauty, something that pierces the very heart and soul of man.

Q: When it comes to your art, where do you begin? How does the creative process start and when does the creation become finished?
A: The creative process starts with either a piece of music or a scene idea. I can never say it's finished, because there are a lot of works that, in due time, will need to be remade.

Q: Is there any other artist or person you look to as a guide or mentor?
A: A lot of my mentors over here on NG are from the Audio Portal, as I am a musician more than I am an artist. People like Sorohanro, HalcyonicFalconX, Norske... But when it comes to artwork, I guess my mentor over here could be EastBeast. And, to a lesser extent, whoever produces work of quality, work that we can stare at for hours on end.

[SourCherryJack]

Q: When did you first become introduced to art and in what form?

My family has always been into Superheroes, so constantly being around action figures and comic books it was only nature that I'd draw my own as a little kid. As I got older I kept drawing and kept getting better.

Q: What first inspired you to create art?

Superheroes were definitely one of my greatest inspirations though my sister also taught me how to draw and kept me at it.

Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of art?

Art, in the general sense, is (to me) pretty much anything that a person consciously creates with the intent of entertaining, impressing and/or invoking thought in a person. Though my definition of what good art is is much less open.

Q: When it comes to your art, where do you begin? How does the creative process start and when does the creation become finished?

It depends, most of the time I start with a rough sketch on a Post-it note of what I want, then I draw it on bigger paper in pencil. If I'm going to ink and color it i lay out all of the colors then go over the lines with ink.
Other times I just start to doodle then I like the way it looks and keep going as is the case with my recent "Blue Girl" drawing. I tend to like ones like these more than my planned ones.

Q: Is there any other artist or person you look to as a guide or mentor?

Most notably my sister. She's taught me a lot about drawing and is the reason that I am still drawing today.

[Aigis]

At 6/7/12 12:53 AM, The-Great-One wrote: Q: When did you first become introduced to art and in what form?

I watched Noddy when I was a baby. Noddy is a TV show. It's about a world where there are no age restrictions on obtaining a driver's license.

Q: What first inspired you to create art?

Aside from just doodling monsters in class, I guess the first thing that inspired me to make art was a friend of mine in primary school who was really good at drawing. And I thought "Man, I want to be as great as him". Unfortunately I had no conviction and gave up after a very short time of not improving at all.

Later when I was about 13 I saw some flash animations on Newgrounds and decided I wanted to try doing that, but again I lacked conviction and gave up without learning how to draw.

Then a few years ago I realised that I did actually like doing art and decided to pick it up again and here I am now.

Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of art?

Personally, I don't think it's really important. We should be examining pieces on their own merits, rather than on whether they fit a specific definition of three consecutive letters.

For what it's worth, I define the term 'art' very broadly. That is, I define it as anything that is created by people not solely for a utilitarian purpose. Something can have a utility and also be art, though.

Q: When it comes to your art, where do you begin? How does the creative process start and when does the creation become finished?

That depends on what I'm doing.

For a picture, I usually start with a blank canvas and then figure out what I'm drawing when I start.

For a comic I'll spend weeks coming up with an idea, and then months pursuing the limits of that idea before I even start writing anything resembling a script. Then the script will take forever in itself.

I'm anything but an ideas machine.

Q: Is there any other artist or person you look to as a guide or mentor?

I find myself mostly influenced by webcomics I read, because those make up most of the art I consume.

So people like Tom Siddell, Meredith Gran, Aaron Diaz, John Allison.

[ReNaeNae]

blah... I'm not a fan of these kinds of things, but I said I'd answer, so... here are my shitty answers :P

Q: When did you first become introduced to art and in what form?

A: I don't recall. Probably pre-kindergarten. Probably by my dad. Probably crayons.

Q: What first inspired you to create art?

A: Again, probably my dad.

Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of art?

A: I hate this question most of all... it's like "what is 'beauty' or 'normal'?"
In my 'opinion' ...art/beauty/normal is what I think it is, when I think it is, because I think it is.

Therefore I am!

It's not constant and can not be defined.

and you can too.

Q: When it comes to your art, where do you begin? How does the creative process start and when does the creation become finished?

A: It starts when I actually attempt to create something and ends when I:
- achieve it (never)
- am satisfied with it (rarely)
- tired of it (often)
- give up (most often)

Q: Is there any other artist or person you look to as a guide or mentor?

A: No.

Can I have my cookie now?

[JKR]

Q: When did you first become introduced to art and in what form?
A: My mother always enjoyed coloring, so I also spent time coloring. Probably around Age 1.

Q: What first inspired you to create art?
A: You're talking about 25 years ago, so I have no idea. What CONTINUES to inspire me to create art is seeing great art by others and wanting to be as good. Wanting to change the world for the better using animation.

Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of art?
A: Why does art need a definition? I think it's one of those things that is defined by what it is. In the same way "peanut butter and jelly sandwich" is a sandwich made using peanut butter and jelly.

Q: When it comes to your art, where do you begin? How does the creative process start and when does the creation become finished?
A: It's never really finished. I stop when I feel the need to move on to something else. No art is truly ever complete. As for starting, I need a theme or idea to begin with. Rarely do I start from nothing.

Q: Is there any other artist or person you look to as a guide or mentor?
A: The great animators like Andreas Deja, Glen Keane, and Eric Goldberg are people I look to in order to improve, but as far as a mentor goes I don't know that I have any that I'm in regular communication with. There are some here and there who give me feedback and a kick in the pants sometimes which really helps a lot, and I hope to be that person for some other artists as well.