Overheard an artist say his portfolio was 'too perfect' and it got me thinking

I was at a coffee shop last week and heard this guy telling his friend that his digital art got rejected from a showcase because it looked too polished, like stock photos. He said clients want to see some roughness or process work to connect with the art. Has anyone else run into that problem where clean work doesn't get picked up?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessica1301mo ago

Laugh my ass off at "too perfect" like it's a bad thing. Go ahead and show them your sketch dump from 3 AM where the anatomy looks like a melted pretzel, that'll connect with them real good. Guess I should've kept that one drawing where the hands look like they're melting into each other, my bad for actually trying to clean it up. Next time I'll leave the eraser tool in the trash and just send clients a half-finished blob with a sticky note that says "process work.

spencer_park261mo agoMost Upvoted

Man it's crazy you say that because it's literally everywhere now... people act like putting in effort is some kind of scam. I see the same thing at the grocery store where everyone wants stuff to look "rustic" and "homemade" but the second it's actually imperfect they complain. Or at work where people brag about half-assing things and call it "keeping it real" but then get mad when the quality sucks. There's this weird pressure to look like you're not trying too hard even when you clearly put work into something. You're supposed to be good but not too good, passionate but not obsessed... it's like walking a tightrope that nobody asked for.

margareto261mo ago

Three years ago I tried to bake a loaf of sourdough from scratch and spent like six hours on it. Brought it to a party and someone literally said “oh wow you actually tried” like it was an insult. I just smiled and ate my perfect bread while they grabbed storebought cookies.

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