Big fish in small pond or small fish in big pond

[SirHellsir]

Me personally would take been a small fish in a big pond any day, since I grew up in a pond so small that it was asphyxiating, several times was told to hold back, that I was out of place (not going into too much detail)
What's your choice?
(I'm talking about artistic passion/talent btw)

[R.n.P]

i dunno how i will put it but at highschool I was sorta juz in the middle of a big pond but at my A level I'm one of the biggest fishes in the pond but I don't let it get to my head since I always remember that there are people out there better than me art-wise.
At high school the discouragement was a lot considering when I started my comic THE LAST SAMURAI but considering how far I've gone my style is starting to improve n it makes me happy that I get to upload it every week here on tapastic n webtoons

[Sanz]

Small fish in a big bond. Although possibly more dangerous and less likley to get noticed. Regarding art. But everyone starts from the bottom...unless you have some kind of advantage over others. Like spouse is in marketing, knows someone who can get in a good art careerer, freinds with an admin of a popular page or site even then you had to start somewhere in general. And a small fish in a big pond is the way to go for me.

[hushicho]

I'd always rather be a big fish in a small pond, personally. I never liked too large environments, whether big cities or large social communities. It's too easy to get lost in places like that, and it's too easy to lose direction for me. I won't hold back just because someone says so -- I did that when I was younger and regretted it. It's not worth undermining yourself just because others tell you that's what you need to do. Life's for living, art is to be felt and not sleepwalked.

[RewindLabs]

In terms of life, I've always seen myself as a small fish in a big pond. No further comments.

Art and passion: Big fish in a big pond.
I don't like dealing with extremes.

[shazzbaa]

I feel like there's a lot of different ways to interpret this question.

Like, in terms of art and passion in offline life, I find a big pond tends to mean more opportunities for friendship with like-minded artists, so I'd probably pick that.
In terms of art and passion in online life, I'm happy to be a big fish in a small pond; to not be super famous on the larger internet but to have a small group of people who follow and respect and like my work and aren't afraid to talk to me, and I have the freedom to interact with them that I simply wouldn't have in a huge pond like Homestuck fandom.

Honestly, I go back and forth. I've had times where I'm the best artist around and times where I'm one of many. And like, it's fun interacting with smaller fandoms where everybody knows everybody; it's also fun getting the sudden mosh-pit fame of being briefly noticed by a huge fandom and then dropped back down into being one of the crowd again.
I think I'd rather not pick just one if I had the option! Both have merits and I'm happy to let life take me back and forth between the two.

[sarrowsmith10]

I think I'd be good being any size fish, but in a small pond. I like the interaction and not having to fight the masses to get feedback. Also it makes me feel like my comments towards other people are more noticed, if there isn't that many of us. I like to feel like I'm connecting to people.. I don't know. I don't feel very connected if I post a comment on a board with a 1000 comments already... seems kinda meaningless.

Yah. small pond fish. seems more genuine.

[donathinfrye]

I have this chat with my friends pretty often, because most of us are stage actors, and a lot of them (particularly the ones younger than I am) have big BIG dreams. Most of my friends moved to LA or NYC after school to work there. A lot of them, folks who I sort of mentored when they were younger, have gone on to do Broadway and TV and a lot of awesome things. But, for me ... well, I've stuck mostly to medium-sized cities. I currently live in Columbus, Ohio.

So I guess I'd say, I wanna be a big fish in a medium pond. I want to be ambitious, but I want to avoid the sort of headache and game-playing that happens when you "make it big". That life just doesn't appeal to me.

But, most of all, I just want to do good work, and tell good stories that mean something to people. Half of my family is Native American, and I've just sorta grown up my whole life with this emphasis on the importance of storytelling in all mediums.

[Marshminator]

Definitely small fish in a big pond. I've learned so much more after moving to a bigger city and being surrounded by more artists and talented people. It really taught me to step up my game, and I've still got so much more to learn.

A small pond can be so isolating, and stagnating creatively is the worst thing possible. Being around more people really helps keep the ideas rolling.

[monotone_ink]

Doesn't matter what size fish, I'm just hungry.