Banning Anime and Cartoons in Art School? No Way!

[MK_Wizard]

I saw, turn the pencil around and erase the lines. If we stop experimenting, art will stagnate and become dull.

[MK_Wizard]

Like I said, I understand teaching different techniques and for the class to focus on them, but suppose the class it meant to give you skills to help your own and you decide anime/cartoon is your style, then it should be respected.

[MK_Wizard]

In my own experience in art classes, I was met with borderline ridicule from some teachers for drawing cartoons.

[Cavechan]

In high school, my art teacher, despite otherwise being an excellent teacher, would always give my friends and I a look whenever we wanted to draw anime-style. Not because she thought it wouldn't help us, but because she just assumed that it was all plagiarized. >_> Even our original characters. That was really weird.

In college I actually didn't draw it much well... I was in graphic design anyway so not much time spent drawing illustrations but when I was in drawing class, it was just drawing references and models so I couldn't really draw anime style even if I wanted to. lol

I agree with Indigo in that it might make sense depending on the class you're taking. Like the basic drawing class was to learn proportion, values, gesture drawing, etc. It wasn't a class to make comics. But when it came to the fine arts class, hell yeah I'm going to do my own style.

[skicoak]

My degree is in art education so let me clarify some things...

Most teachers aren't really trying to discourage the student's interest in cartooning ect., they're are promoting a broader scope of curriculum.

Any student with a specific esoteric interest or style receives similar treatment in terms of coaching them towards the broader classroom goals. There are student that ONLY want to draw one way or one thing...and that's a roadblock to even their own development as an artist. As an educator, you would be doing all students a disservice by only teaching them in their passions of the moment. One of my fondest moments, while student teaching, was mentoring a young lady away from her security blanket of only doing horse profile portraits. And in doing so, she also got better at her original love.

As a side note, there's a weird notion that any art style or movement that pushes boundaries is a case study of the legitimacy of all others. Minimalism, Cubism, Abstract or Dadaism are not meant to be shields against the traditional foundations of art...they're exploration of the limits of the form. As such, if I was teaching general anatomy to a class... The budding abstractionist isn't any different from the student insisting on Sailor Moon proportions. Both are off book.

[Prometheus]

I agree. I also agree with a lot of what @IndigoShirtProd said. I think she hit it on the head pretty well. I had a high school teacher who didn’t like the manga style. (If I remember correctly. He was a super odd duck, though.) My college professor who taught illustration and realistic art, used the creator of the manga Akira as an example of perspective and amazing art for drawing buildings and cities. Someone in our class did manga, and when he saw their art he revered them for it. He was a pretty cool dude. He never discouraged it, but didn’t really focus on it in his class. Which I believe is how it should be. Discouragement I feel is the wrong way to go. But I do think it’s lame how there’s a blanket idea on what art is, when art is such a broad term.

[IndigoShirtProd]

I won't blame you for not knowing. I'm a woman.

[Prometheus]

@IndigoShirtProd

Oh, oops. My bad. I’ll edit that.

[IndigoShirtProd]

Don't worry, it's fine.

[Jenny-Toons]

Is it right to discourage artists over that? No. Not at all. If professors are not even willing to listen to reason on the advantages of the style, then there's an argument. Otherwise take the criticism and instruction and apply it to the work you want to do.

I definitely with this.

Had an art professor who noticed that I had a more cartoonish style. But she also noticed that enjoy working with and pulling from Renaissance art. So she was basically like "hey -- you can definitely amplify your art if you practice from Greek/Roman inspired paintings" Even gave me a list of artists she thought I'd like to check out.

Guess what -- it worked. I learned how to draw and blend with charcoal that year and improved my anatomy.

[MK_Wizard]

Heh. I a lot of people mistaken me for a man too because of my icon.

[MK_Wizard]

That is the way a teacher should be. They should guide you on the right path not bully you or pressure you on it. I have heard of teachers taking their students' work and tearing it up. Some even ridiculed them.

[Prometheus]

@MK_Wizard

Yeah, I feel like that kind of behavior is degrading and should get the teacher a warning or something from administration.

[skicoak]

I have heard of teachers taking their students' work and tearing it up. Some even ridiculed them.

Yeah, I feel like that kind of behavior is degrading and should get the teacher a warning or something from administration.

Again, I should point out, from experience, that these things don't exist in a vacuum and are specifically tailored stories designed to create empathy for the storyteller. Educators across the spectrum laugh at the amazing stories that start with "I wasn't doing anything wrong then teacher X suddenly ..."

Paging @Rodimus13, for a cosign.

[vothnthorvaldson]

Well, depend on where/when it is.
Humiliating kids and even encouraging others kids to bully them was still pretty prevalent when I was a kid, enough that there would be zero consequences on teachers.
With 2019 expectations, I could have grounds to sue 10-15 teachers.

[Prometheus]

@skicoak

I’m not blanketing anyone, or at least trying to. I’m sure many of the stories are, like art, from the eye of the beholder. I’m just saying that if that ever were to truly happen, it would be highly inappropriate.

[Prometheus]

I know a number of kids that started those “I didn’t do anything wrong stories.” They bugged the living crap out of me. I’m for teachers as much as I am for students, but it all depends on circumstance. I hope that makes sense.

[unknown_user]

I think that is an unjust idea because it falsely assumes cartoons and anime are not art and don't merit the same respect other art mediums or styles get. Moreover, there is a great double standard behind this attitude considering that abstract, cubism and minimalism arts get heralded as revolutionary and moving. Moreover, some of these pieces have included a picture of a potato behind a black background, a canvas consisting only of white paint all over it and a world famous art piece which is an enormous boulder. In a time where beauty and art are accepted as being in the eye of the beholder, I think it is most definitely a double standard to be able to call pieces I mentioned before as distinguished pieces of art, but not do the same for pieces that are anime or cartoon style.

More than agree with this part.
Actually, the fact itself that some kinds of art can be banned in art schools surprised me a lot. 0_o

[skicoak]

I’m not blanketing anyone, or at least trying to. I’m sure many of the stories are, like art, from the eye of the beholder. I’m just saying that if that ever were to truly happen, it would be highly inappropriate.

I follow you completely... What I'm getting at is even in circumstances that fit the criteria of the discussion... Like taking a sheet of chibis sketches from a student that's supposed to be drawing a fruit still life...it's not a condemnation of chibis and the verbal warning attached to it isn't meant to do long term psychological damage. But you'll hear accounts of it like the teacher had it out for that student. Teachers are too TIRED to have vendettas folks.

[MK_Wizard]

You would be surprised at how mean and vengeful some teachers can get.