Once I got an email from someone suggesting that “you should consider making [my male paper dolls] look happier.”
Once I had someone describe my work as all looking like aliens and suggesting that “smaller eyes make more realistic faces.”
Once I got an email informing me that if my paper dolls wore more underwear than they would be appropriate for classrooms and that this would “make them much more popular.”
I reply politely to these emails, as the best that I can, and then I ignore them.
When you are learning a new skill, it is common for teachers or classmates to provide constructive criticism. This is a very useful process and I would never suggest otherwise, but when you’re not in a class and someone offers you unsolicited constructive criticism, often in the guise of advice, it is hard not to feel obligated to accept it.
It is okay to ignore constructive criticism that you never asked for and constructive criticism you did ask for.
Ignoring doesn’t mean that the advice isn’t reasonable. It is true that my paper dolls have huge unrealistic eyes. It is true that my male dolls don’t smile (none of my paper dolls really smile, but that’s a whole different issue.) More covering underwear would likely go over better in a lot of school classrooms.
It is also true that if I wanted to draw realistic paper dolls, I would be working a lot harder on taking some figure drawing classes to try to learn to draw realistically. If I wanted to draw smiling paper dolls, I would. If I wanted to make dolls in more conservative underwear, I would.
It takes a long time to be comfortable enough with your art to say, “You’re right. My paper dolls could smile more, but you know… I don’t like smiling paper dolls.”
I want people to communicate with me. I love hearing from my readers. I get a thrill every time there is a comment and every time I get an email. When I think about abandoning the blog or I really don’t feel like doing it one evening, it is these comments that keep me going, but I do not have to please everyone.
I really only have to please myself.
And I am still, despite emails recommending more happy looking paper dolls, my harshest critic.
But you know, I don’t have to listen to me, either.
It is okay to just let go and say, well… maybe, but I like my skimpy underwear and my frowning males and my huge eyes. This is how I draw. I will always want to get better, but I don’t have to listen to everyone’s advice.
I love your dolls! 🙂 Keep doing what you want. (P.S. when I use your paperdolls with kids, I just draw and undershirt on them first. 😀
That’s one solution to the skimpy undergarments. 🙂 Honestly though, I draw skimpy undergarments so that the paper dolls can wear a greater range of costumes. It’s a practical choice for me.
To clarify, I draw more of a tube top, so they can still wear shoulderless fashions. And *I* don’t object to their underwear… just, you know how some parents can be…
I love how you draw your paperdolls and seriously, I would not call the underwear you draw on them skimpy.
Any kid that has been to a beach or a pool has seen skimpier! And most kids know how their moms and older sisters look in their underwear, so that’s really not any kind of issue. 🙂
Though I am Austrian, and I think we tend to be a lot less body shy than most Americans?
(not trying to start an argument, just stating an obserbation! :))
tl, dr: I love your drawing style and would not be hanging out here if I didn’t! 😀
*observation even 😉
Nudity is more taboo in the US than in other places. I remember seeing some Danish paper dolls where the dolls, both male and female, were totally naked with underwear you put over them. There wasn’t anything erotic about the nudity, it simply was nudity. I found them fascinating, though I confess I can’t recall what publication they were form. This was years ago.
When you grow up with nudity being something normal, it’s no big deal I guess.
I have always drawn my own paperdolls naked, though I confess to making them look a little, well, Barbie-doll-ish, since the aim is not to draw realistic nudes, but dolls (to be dressed later anyway), who happen to not wear anything in their natural state.
Marcus looks like the Mona Lisa to me: he’s smiling when you look at him as a whole, but neutral when you look at his lips. Almost like he has the corners of his mouth turned up a bit.
Yersinia, yeah, we Americans are prudes. I was in Poland recently and was amazed at how nudity and sexuality are openly discussed and even joked about, where in the States you can’t even reference it without someone freaking out.
Honestly though, who cares what people think? You draw paper dolls because it makes you happy. You don’t have to share them online, but you choose to. If they don’t like what you draw, there’s other options out there.
I think we call care what people think, even if we claim not too. All do the emails I cited above were nothing short of utterly polite and very gracious. They were not rude and they were not even saying they disliked my work. They were offering me criticism to help make my work better, or to make it what they thought would be better. I simply didn’t agree with them.
I really like your paper dolls. The diversity is awesome, and keeps me coming back. If someone doesn’t like your style, well, there’s a whole great wide internet out there for them to find something they like better. Meanwhile, I think I might print out some of your black and white dolls to color while I’m traveling this weekend. 🙂
It is not a matter of someone liking something better. None of the emails I cited at the beginning of the post were anything less than utterly polite, gracious and trying to be helpful. It is a matter of learning when you should or should not accept someone’s advice. That’s a hard line to learn to draw.
Not only do I love your dolls the way you draw them, I also love your point of view concerning criticism.
I think we are trained in school to accept constructive criticism and change because of it. It is a hard lesson to learn that you are never obligated to take someone’s advice.
Your non-smiling, unrealistic big eyes, and skimpy underwear paper dolls are unique in this way. The skimpy underwear is actually realistic. I find that drawing big eyes on your paper dolls allows you to add more detail if desired. And non-smiling paper dolls is not anything negative. In reality, people everywhere are not always smiling. They could be thinking while giving the non verbal of not smiling. I like your paper dolls just the way you have been making them, but if you decide to change anything about them, that is fine. Creativity is great because you can draw anything, anyway, you want and continue your freedom of expression. Cisco
Changing them is actually more of a struggle for me than continuing a series. Giving up a paper doll series is always fraught with guilt for me, even if I don’t want to keep them up. It’s a challenge for me to learn to let go and let myself try new and different things. A topic for another post someday, perhaps.
I love your paper dolls, and I don’t have a problem with them. I think you should just draw what you like, and, personally, I love the big eyes and I always draw my people with big eyes, I think it’s cute and leaves room for a lot of detail. And your dolls don’t have to smile to look cheerful, they look great the way they are.
Thank you, Jazz13. I am glad you like them. I know a lot of people like them. The purpose of this post wasn’t to say, “Hey look some people don’t like my stuff” but rather to address the fact that learning to not take advice or constructive criticism can be challenging.
Very thoughtful post and discussion. I totally understand designing practical under garments that fit a range of costume options. And really, every one is a critic. And that’s fine! Every person has a unique point of view just as every artist has a unique style. Your style may not appeal to every individual viewer’s point of view or cultural perspective. There’s some art I absolutely hate out in the world. You know what? That makes is successful art because I FELT something. You have a unique, interesting style and I enjoy seeing it.
I’m wondering if the folks saying the dolls look unhappy look happy themselves. lol It isn’t realistic to expect happy all the time, and a happy appearance is about more than just a smiling face. I am a generally happy person, but there are people who think I am angry all the time because all they take into consideration is that I am not smiling. That being said, you are right about two things. A) Everyone has an opinion, and we are certainly free to ignore them or not, and B) Your art is about YOU and not about anyone else. As an artist myself, I completely understand what you are saying, and want to say thanks for the reminder! I hope you have a wonderful Friday and an AWESOME art filled weekend!
I recently found your website and was instantly in love with your style of illustration and your imagination. The fact that you put your time and energy into something you love and then put it out for the world to enjoy shows a true and generous spirit. Do not ever let anyone put a damper on what you have accomplished. There will always be a negative coming from somewhere but it should never be your problem. What you do is for love of the craft and there are many of us who appreciate your gifts and are thankful for what you do.
I just found your paper dolls while looking for coloring pages for my grand daughter. They are gorgeous and I can’t wait for her to color them so we can cut them out and play. I am looking forward to reading more of your explanations and the history of the fashion. Lovely work.