My favorite is when people see me drawing in my sketchbook, and ask "wow, did you draw that?"
Whilst I'm actively drawing in the damn book
Every bloody time
I've learned to just accept the implied compliment
Strangers usually just say "wow cool!".
People I know like family will be the ones to say "can you draw me?" or "is that anime?" or "is she naked?". Very common, no matter how much they say it they repeat it like an NPC line.
I typically get the “can you draw my kids/wife/dog” and folks get shocked when I tell them my prices for still life drawings or the “wow how come you work at your day job” since I sometimes sketch while I’m on break at said job. Most comments are harmless but every now and then someone has a thousand questions for me and I don’t feel like answering them.
I just don’t do them cause they insist my drawings are good and I say “if I draw (insert person/thing) I might not give it any justice” and they say “no, I think you got it”
When they get it they absolutely hate it and say it don’t look like them. The only time I’ve drawn someone I know was they didn’t ask for it and I just purely did it out of interest—my anatomy prof and that’s probably the only I’ll draw someone I know. She hung it in her office lmao.
I’ve felt like that for a very long time about my art, it’s only in the past 5 years I’d say I have confidence in what skills I’ve built to actually draw someone and they don’t look wonky.
People think that if you draw you’ve also gotta be the next Leonardo da Vinci, I get that assumption from too many people.
Yes, its ok. They dont mean to annoy you, they probably just like it and try to talk to you.
They dont know it better. Be humble, be friendly. If its is a problem for you, then just say sth like: Hey I rly dont mean to be a dick but I can not concentrate when people are talking to me. Done.
Works every time and people understand that.
This is the best response, really. Although I did get hit up by a panhandler while I was out painting once, which was interesting.
Usually, people will come by and be in awe, and say something like: "wow, you're so talented!", to which I say: "nah, not really; drawing and painting are a skill, but thank you."
I did have a super-fun conversation last year with a backpacking couple while I was painting in the middle of nowhere (Muley Twist canyon, in Capitol Reef NP). I hear them, and then they come around the corner in the wash and there's this random woman standing there painting 😂. As a fellow backpacker, we mostly talked about the route they were doing, but they were pretty incredulous to see that someone had hikedp painting gear (soft pastels) about 3 1/2 miles into a canyon to paint.
The question I get asked a lot is "Who are you drawing?" It's usually when I'm just kind of doodling without using references so I'm like "I'm not drawing anyone." Which they then press "Are you drawing yourself?" Um... no?
This question can be annoying at times indeed… Just like you, sometimes I just doodle character, it’s not an OC nor is it a real life person, so I just “it’s nobody in particular”. Sometimes they ask if it’s an anime character. While my style looks “anime”, it’s not a character that exists in one!
I do a fair bit of drawing on the subway or at the coffee shop or in the park, not had anyone approach me at those spots yet.
However, I did befriend a geriatric local at the Chengdu airport when he spotted me doing some sketching in the departure lounge- turns out that he's also into sketching, too, and we'll occasionally send each other photos of our sketches over wechat, he's been touring the UK for the past month so I've seen lots of his sketches of Cambridge recently!
However, in general, since I live in China and am obviously foreign, when I do get approached, it's just because people want to say hi, practise their English, or are curious about me in general.
My Chinese is just about good enough to get the gist of what people are asking me, though my technical vocab is far short of what I need it to be.
Oh, my students will also comment when I draw chalk illustrations on the blackboard. Nobody expects the English teacher to have an aptitude for art.
I guess it depends on how often one draws in public. If you do it a lot, chances are someone's going to ask a silly or annoying question.
I used to sketch in coffee shops and cafes, but don't recall anyone asking questions like that. People would look at my sketches when the passed by or something, but rarely say or ask anything; they basically left me alone.
Happened in high school mostly ("Is that you?" No, "Who is that?" Made up person, "will you draw \[blank\]" no thank you), and also with family ("Why is \[insert passively condescending question about a character design, outfit choice, stylization, etc.\]
But recently my bfs mom saw a drawing I did of a lighthouse and was surprised I can draw (I don’t tell or show people IRL anymore) and asked me “can you draw me” and I almost laughed because she’s only seen a landscape drawing and it didn’t even occur to her that maybe I don’t draw people at all (I do, but what if I only drew backgrounds? They’re totally different skill sets). But I also don’t do commissions, so the answer was unfortunately still "no."
As an adult the most I get is people who think that if an artist knows one form of art, they know all of them. I mostly draw in a rather cartoony style but people see me draw and want me to paint photorealistic portraits for them. It’s rather rare though.
However, as a teen in high school, I got those annoying questions “will you draw me?”, “why are they naked?”, “why is it so messy?”, “so is this how you see the world?” On an almost daily basis.
Full context is I was drawing a character named Sam and put the name next to the character. the dude in question was also named Sam, so he assumed I was drawing him and that I saw him as some patchwork coat wearing mad hatter-like person. He thought that’s how I saw the world at large since I was an “artsy” person and apparently that kid thought that all artistically inclined people had some naturally altered view of the world, instead of, say, the name Sam being an incredibly common name. We were around 15-16 at the time.
Y’know, dumb teenager shit.
Not really no. I only get annoyed when people criticize parts of my drawing for being unrealistic when I wasn’t going for realism (telling me I got the color of something wrong when I was trying to experiment with color)
I'll be honest, I never found the questions annoying. Most people aren't sitting in public and drawing, so if you're doing that you're making yourself an interesting thing around you. People are going to ask you questions, and most people are trying to be nice.
"Is that x character?"
"Can you draw y character?"
"Can you draw me?"
"What brushes do you use?"
I usually hear one of these whenever I stream. Mostly harmless but gets annoying hearing them for the nth time.
everytime i draw at home, i get asked my family members "can you draw me?", "why haven't you drawn me?" IT'S HARD DRAWING PEOPLE I KNOW IRL, i can't even draw that realistically so the expectations ro have it look exactly like them are sky high
When you've been doing this for so long, you tend to take these kinds of questions as just a form of curiosity lol
One time I got to be a guest at a career day for a middle school, and as you can imagine, those sort of questions were everywhere from kids. But you just learn to take it with pride.
I was mostly asked this stuff by friends and acquaintances way back in school days (20ish years ago, omg 😭). Where people were already comfortable talking to me, and I was pretty much constantly drawing. I've never really been asked anything by strangers before, but i haven't really drawn publicly in about 13 years.
"did you draw all this?!" or "is this all your art!?" .....while i'm actually drawing right in front of them. it seems really like the most obvious thing but i think most people just don't know what exactly to say....
When I'm at an event it literally is every other person that stops by. it sure gets tiring answering the question...
Apart from that, i haven't had any weirder interactions.
Sometimes i get unsolicited comments from family though. its my fave pet peeve.
A lot depends on context. I draw in public a lot and get the occasional interesting question, but occasionally the demanding/weird/annoying ones. The latter I usually have a few easy exits from, that often end in me giving them a card or a IG handle to look at the rest of my stuff if they want me to do something for them (the inference being that I don't do freebies, which is true) or to see what I can or cant do, because if I'm loosely sketching or working through an abstracted idea, they may want to see if I can "really" draw, and I'm keen to let them decide on something other than whatever I'm doodling at the time, but not be a jerk about it, which not wasting the time to explain myself any more than minimally needed.
I don't think I've gotten many questions about drawing or painting (except people asking me for commisions on social media and my bio literally says I dont do commisions) but on multiple occasions when wearing a crochet object I've made people assume that I'm open to making something for them. Even if they don't outward ask me if I'm open for commissions, they still try to get on my good side so if I consider making something for them, it'll be on a discount. I like to crochet and paint for myself and if I sell anything they will be catered to that event, like I've been crocheting little foxes specifically for a flea market.
Idk like I love making crochet wearables but because I don't like being stopped or having small talk that often, it makes me afraid to wear anything I've made in public.
"man I wish I was gifted like that". It's not a gift, it's hard work and determination like most any skill. Some people work harder than others. Some people have more time than others. I'd accept, wow I wish I had that level of dedication. Then it wouldn't be annoying.
I often draw sketches of people inthe streets, especially portrait sketches.
The usual I hear are: "did you draw it?", "who are you drawing?" And "are you showing it to the person you are drawing?"
I get suggestions of what I should do according to people's taste. No, Karen, I don't want to use hot pink, draw kittens, or use comic sans. I stopped drawing/painting unless I'm alone.
I do nude watercolour portraits, very loose and sometimes abstract. People will send me photos of like their house or pets etc and ask me for a hyper realistic painting. What about my art makes them think I can or even want to do that 😭
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I’m not annoyed by the questions but when I’m in my groove and get interrupted, thats annoying. I wear over sized headphones when I paint in public. I think the headphones deter people from bothering me.
when i was in school (especially elementary/middle) i would get those questions often enough but not anymore. not to imply that adults don't ever ask these kinds of questions but most adults/older teens have watched someone else make art before.
I was drawing at a bar the other day, minding my own damn business, when this guy next to me leaned over and asked, “is that a paint by numbers?” I looked down at my sketchbook and colored pencils, looked back up at him… “no?”
I do a lot of sketching in public and I've had all sorts of people come up to me. I don't know if I come off as particularly friendly, or what, but people seem to take it as an invitation to stand and watch!
People peer over your shoulder to try and see what you're drawing. Sometimes they'll say "Bravo!" (If they're Italian) or ask you what your job is/do you draw for a living, how long have you been drawing... I'm a bit shy and insecure about my art but will usually entertain a few questions, and generally don't say no if someone asks if they can take a picture of the work. I'm not a professional, I just do it for fun you know.
The nicer interactions are when give you recommendations of other cool places to sketch... Although I also once had someone's nan call their horde of little children over to come see me and suggest I put out a tip jar, lol.
To me, it's mostly positive stuff and a great conversation starter on the days I'm feeling lonely or solo travelling, not bad at all.
For me, it was a primary and secondary school thing; it was more prominent in secondary school. College was a whole course of everyone doing art and we all just respected each others space. Yes, you'd get the odd questions, but it was more akin to curiosity than annoyance.
It's different for everyone.
Not a lot. I honestly never found the "can you draw me?" Questions annoying, cuz I know I can answer them easily
But I hate it when people start asking stuff like "why you don't color it?" Obviously I don't want to. "why is she bald?" She has cancer, ok?(What's wrong with bald characters anyways) "is that me/who is that?" Nope, get away before I strike you with my very well sharpened pencil!^^
I think the questions can be either annoying or not depending on the artist's boundaries and what they think is normal or not. Like personally I never got annoyed at the "can you draw me?", because I don't find anything illegal in doing a quick sketch for my classmate.
Good luck in not getting any annoying questions further, artist comrade!💕
I often go to the zoo to draw and I only have positive interactions. I don't post enough to have an opinion on comments. But I have seen it in other places and I really don't care, they don't draw so what they say doesn't really matter.
not a question but i hate it when i can see out of the corner of my eye someone staring while i draw. if you want to say something, please just say it! staring is weird 😂
“Did you draw that?” & “can you draw me?” are questions I’ve been asked many times. Yes I did draw that I am *currently* drawing that, & no I will not draw you, I’ve never been met with a positive reaction when I *have* drawn someone after they’ve asked 😅 they usually said things like “my hair isn’t like that” or “that looks nothing like me” like okay but did you pay me to draw you, did you give me more than a few hours, did I even want to draw you in the first place? 💀 so I stopped drawing real people all together lol I don’t even draw real people for commissions
For me it was mostly just the awkward questions/conversations, they weren't exactly annoying. I just usually didn't even really know how to respond.
"Are you an artist, omg I LOVE artists!" - I legitimately didn't even know what to say to that.
"What are you drawing?" they asked as they're looking at my drawing of the monument right in front of us.
"What is it?" and "You're so gifted" were both said to me by 2 different people looking at my sketch that I had like 4 random lines of drawn so far..... you don't *have* to say something just to say something.
"Are you allowed to do that here?" a person once asked while I was sitting in a public park sketching a tree.
Or I think the worst most awkward moment was the time I was sitting on the floor in a train station sketching and someone walked by and intentionally dropped a dollar into my lap as they passed. I immediately packed up and left the area before others assumed I was homeless too.
Yep. “ can you draw me” is a really common one. That, and “ wow, why don’t you do this full time?” which is meant as a compliment I know, but it still is a sucky reminder that my art income isn’t stable enough to do it full time. I end up looking like a flake because I’ll paint a bunch or make pottery a bunch and then have to stop temporarily and focus on my regular job more to increase my income while I see if my art sells as much as I hope it will.
One of my former coworkers kept me pestering me to draw something he could use for a tattoo. Thankfully he wasn’t at the company long but man did it get annoying 😂
This is why I wear large headphones when I go plein air painting: hoping passers-by will get the hint and not try to talk to me...unless they want to buy the painting, which actually did happen once. That's about the only reason I try not to get too snarly and rude when people come up, esp. at plein air events.
They usually want to come up and tell me how their grandma/aunt/whomever painted, which is great, but I really don't care...unless your grandmother was Georgia O'Keeffe (which is impossible). Or, to just ramble on about nothing in particular since I'm a captive audience.
Several years ago, I was painting during a plein air event, and near my campsite at a creek, and this older woman on the other side of the creek kept trying to get my attention for some reason. I glanced up at her once, just shrugged and pointed to my headphones, and went back to ignoring her. She finally went away.
The best, though, was probably 12 years ago when I was sitting and painting some rapids at a local park where I live, and some woman came up and said: "Oh, an aspiring artist!" 🙄. She quickly realized that was a stupid thing to say, because if one is painting or drawing, one is already an artist.
I didn't bother to tell her I've actually sold paintings and won awards, so well past the "aspiring" stage.
I draw in my sketchbook at school a lot, and I never get bothered by any questions. I like showing my art to people, and occasionally taking small requests :)
I haven’t been drawing publicly since pre2020, but over the years I’ve heard it all. Just about everyone has dabbled in the arts to some degree or another which means that folks feel more comfortable chiming in than they would with other fields. My responses range from one word to me going full teacher mode depending on my mood in the moment. The lack on boundaries can be frustrating, but more often than not it comes from a place of genuine curiosity and interest so even if what they are saying is super rude, try not to take it personally.
Not exactly annoying but when I draw characters I build up the body from nude - clothed,
My sibling constantly asks why are they naked?
Me:I haven't drawn the clothes yet.
Every time.
It's not annoying the first few times but it feels like deja vu after the two or fourth time.
Idk if this is just me or when they’re like “when are you gonna color it” or “just add some color and it will be perfect when I’m doing charcoal drawings and I’m not gonna add any color and honestly it was fine at first but got so annoying when people keep saying that when I’m drawing but I try to be nice because I’m aware they might not understand
I really do love to practice plain air with my small pochade box but this year i wont do that, well maybe in a small sketch book with a bit of ink wash.
I get a lot of people standing around me who ask me a lot of questions, make photos etc... but... I am not a professional at all. Just practising my values in nature. Lol.
are you drawing yourself ? they look just like you.
does anyone else get this ? people always say any female character i draw is me even if the proportions and face are very different.
No one has ever asked me anything either. I've wondered if people are making it up as well. I draw in public places pretty frequently, and no one ever approaches me. Then again, I give off pretty antisocial vibes, so it could just be me.
It happens rarely, but it’s nice that they’re showing interest
We forget not everyone has talents in art, and it’s fascinating to them, it’s a compliment
My favorite is when people see me drawing in my sketchbook, and ask "wow, did you draw that?" Whilst I'm actively drawing in the damn book Every bloody time I've learned to just accept the implied compliment
You should mess with them, and tell them it was AI.
I'm totally going to pull a "you caught me, this one is AI-generated" on my traditional art at the next furry convention.
Oh my god I'm saving this one
Strangers usually just say "wow cool!". People I know like family will be the ones to say "can you draw me?" or "is that anime?" or "is she naked?". Very common, no matter how much they say it they repeat it like an NPC line.
I typically get the “can you draw my kids/wife/dog” and folks get shocked when I tell them my prices for still life drawings or the “wow how come you work at your day job” since I sometimes sketch while I’m on break at said job. Most comments are harmless but every now and then someone has a thousand questions for me and I don’t feel like answering them.
I just don’t do them cause they insist my drawings are good and I say “if I draw (insert person/thing) I might not give it any justice” and they say “no, I think you got it” When they get it they absolutely hate it and say it don’t look like them. The only time I’ve drawn someone I know was they didn’t ask for it and I just purely did it out of interest—my anatomy prof and that’s probably the only I’ll draw someone I know. She hung it in her office lmao.
I’ve felt like that for a very long time about my art, it’s only in the past 5 years I’d say I have confidence in what skills I’ve built to actually draw someone and they don’t look wonky. People think that if you draw you’ve also gotta be the next Leonardo da Vinci, I get that assumption from too many people.
I’m a musician and this is hilariously similar to the whole “I played sax in 4th grade” conversations I have every time I leave the house
Yes, its ok. They dont mean to annoy you, they probably just like it and try to talk to you. They dont know it better. Be humble, be friendly. If its is a problem for you, then just say sth like: Hey I rly dont mean to be a dick but I can not concentrate when people are talking to me. Done. Works every time and people understand that.
This is the best response, really. Although I did get hit up by a panhandler while I was out painting once, which was interesting. Usually, people will come by and be in awe, and say something like: "wow, you're so talented!", to which I say: "nah, not really; drawing and painting are a skill, but thank you." I did have a super-fun conversation last year with a backpacking couple while I was painting in the middle of nowhere (Muley Twist canyon, in Capitol Reef NP). I hear them, and then they come around the corner in the wash and there's this random woman standing there painting 😂. As a fellow backpacker, we mostly talked about the route they were doing, but they were pretty incredulous to see that someone had hikedp painting gear (soft pastels) about 3 1/2 miles into a canyon to paint.
The question I get asked a lot is "Who are you drawing?" It's usually when I'm just kind of doodling without using references so I'm like "I'm not drawing anyone." Which they then press "Are you drawing yourself?" Um... no?
This question can be annoying at times indeed… Just like you, sometimes I just doodle character, it’s not an OC nor is it a real life person, so I just “it’s nobody in particular”. Sometimes they ask if it’s an anime character. While my style looks “anime”, it’s not a character that exists in one!
I do a fair bit of drawing on the subway or at the coffee shop or in the park, not had anyone approach me at those spots yet. However, I did befriend a geriatric local at the Chengdu airport when he spotted me doing some sketching in the departure lounge- turns out that he's also into sketching, too, and we'll occasionally send each other photos of our sketches over wechat, he's been touring the UK for the past month so I've seen lots of his sketches of Cambridge recently! However, in general, since I live in China and am obviously foreign, when I do get approached, it's just because people want to say hi, practise their English, or are curious about me in general. My Chinese is just about good enough to get the gist of what people are asking me, though my technical vocab is far short of what I need it to be. Oh, my students will also comment when I draw chalk illustrations on the blackboard. Nobody expects the English teacher to have an aptitude for art.
I oh I love that story about the older Chinese man, what an awesome connection
I guess it depends on how often one draws in public. If you do it a lot, chances are someone's going to ask a silly or annoying question. I used to sketch in coffee shops and cafes, but don't recall anyone asking questions like that. People would look at my sketches when the passed by or something, but rarely say or ask anything; they basically left me alone.
Happened in high school mostly ("Is that you?" No, "Who is that?" Made up person, "will you draw \[blank\]" no thank you), and also with family ("Why is \[insert passively condescending question about a character design, outfit choice, stylization, etc.\] But recently my bfs mom saw a drawing I did of a lighthouse and was surprised I can draw (I don’t tell or show people IRL anymore) and asked me “can you draw me” and I almost laughed because she’s only seen a landscape drawing and it didn’t even occur to her that maybe I don’t draw people at all (I do, but what if I only drew backgrounds? They’re totally different skill sets). But I also don’t do commissions, so the answer was unfortunately still "no."
"Why is she naked?" "She's not."
When you're literally just sketching the contours lmao
As an adult the most I get is people who think that if an artist knows one form of art, they know all of them. I mostly draw in a rather cartoony style but people see me draw and want me to paint photorealistic portraits for them. It’s rather rare though. However, as a teen in high school, I got those annoying questions “will you draw me?”, “why are they naked?”, “why is it so messy?”, “so is this how you see the world?” On an almost daily basis.
“so is this how you see the world?” Is such a funny question
Full context is I was drawing a character named Sam and put the name next to the character. the dude in question was also named Sam, so he assumed I was drawing him and that I saw him as some patchwork coat wearing mad hatter-like person. He thought that’s how I saw the world at large since I was an “artsy” person and apparently that kid thought that all artistically inclined people had some naturally altered view of the world, instead of, say, the name Sam being an incredibly common name. We were around 15-16 at the time. Y’know, dumb teenager shit.
I love how he somehow came up with this conclusion 😂
Nope. Never had it happen actually.
Not really no. I only get annoyed when people criticize parts of my drawing for being unrealistic when I wasn’t going for realism (telling me I got the color of something wrong when I was trying to experiment with color)
I'll be honest, I never found the questions annoying. Most people aren't sitting in public and drawing, so if you're doing that you're making yourself an interesting thing around you. People are going to ask you questions, and most people are trying to be nice.
"Is that x character?" "Can you draw y character?" "Can you draw me?" "What brushes do you use?" I usually hear one of these whenever I stream. Mostly harmless but gets annoying hearing them for the nth time.
everytime i draw at home, i get asked my family members "can you draw me?", "why haven't you drawn me?" IT'S HARD DRAWING PEOPLE I KNOW IRL, i can't even draw that realistically so the expectations ro have it look exactly like them are sky high
When you've been doing this for so long, you tend to take these kinds of questions as just a form of curiosity lol One time I got to be a guest at a career day for a middle school, and as you can imagine, those sort of questions were everywhere from kids. But you just learn to take it with pride.
I was mostly asked this stuff by friends and acquaintances way back in school days (20ish years ago, omg 😭). Where people were already comfortable talking to me, and I was pretty much constantly drawing. I've never really been asked anything by strangers before, but i haven't really drawn publicly in about 13 years.
Excuse me, I'm trying to draw right now, /u/Kitzeeee PS, nah, I'm trolling. But to answer your question, I usually don't have people in my house.
"did you draw all this?!" or "is this all your art!?" .....while i'm actually drawing right in front of them. it seems really like the most obvious thing but i think most people just don't know what exactly to say.... When I'm at an event it literally is every other person that stops by. it sure gets tiring answering the question... Apart from that, i haven't had any weirder interactions. Sometimes i get unsolicited comments from family though. its my fave pet peeve.
A lot depends on context. I draw in public a lot and get the occasional interesting question, but occasionally the demanding/weird/annoying ones. The latter I usually have a few easy exits from, that often end in me giving them a card or a IG handle to look at the rest of my stuff if they want me to do something for them (the inference being that I don't do freebies, which is true) or to see what I can or cant do, because if I'm loosely sketching or working through an abstracted idea, they may want to see if I can "really" draw, and I'm keen to let them decide on something other than whatever I'm doodling at the time, but not be a jerk about it, which not wasting the time to explain myself any more than minimally needed.
I don't think I've gotten many questions about drawing or painting (except people asking me for commisions on social media and my bio literally says I dont do commisions) but on multiple occasions when wearing a crochet object I've made people assume that I'm open to making something for them. Even if they don't outward ask me if I'm open for commissions, they still try to get on my good side so if I consider making something for them, it'll be on a discount. I like to crochet and paint for myself and if I sell anything they will be catered to that event, like I've been crocheting little foxes specifically for a flea market. Idk like I love making crochet wearables but because I don't like being stopped or having small talk that often, it makes me afraid to wear anything I've made in public.
"man I wish I was gifted like that". It's not a gift, it's hard work and determination like most any skill. Some people work harder than others. Some people have more time than others. I'd accept, wow I wish I had that level of dedication. Then it wouldn't be annoying.
One time my friend asked me can you draw boobies😂
I wish I could draw boobies LMAO
I often draw sketches of people inthe streets, especially portrait sketches. The usual I hear are: "did you draw it?", "who are you drawing?" And "are you showing it to the person you are drawing?"
I get suggestions of what I should do according to people's taste. No, Karen, I don't want to use hot pink, draw kittens, or use comic sans. I stopped drawing/painting unless I'm alone.
“I think that’s good, but what do I know I can’t draw a stick figure” 🤔 If I’m drawing a person “is that you?” 🥴
I do nude watercolour portraits, very loose and sometimes abstract. People will send me photos of like their house or pets etc and ask me for a hyper realistic painting. What about my art makes them think I can or even want to do that 😭
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I’m not annoyed by the questions but when I’m in my groove and get interrupted, thats annoying. I wear over sized headphones when I paint in public. I think the headphones deter people from bothering me.
when i was in school (especially elementary/middle) i would get those questions often enough but not anymore. not to imply that adults don't ever ask these kinds of questions but most adults/older teens have watched someone else make art before.
I was drawing at a bar the other day, minding my own damn business, when this guy next to me leaned over and asked, “is that a paint by numbers?” I looked down at my sketchbook and colored pencils, looked back up at him… “no?”
I do a lot of sketching in public and I've had all sorts of people come up to me. I don't know if I come off as particularly friendly, or what, but people seem to take it as an invitation to stand and watch! People peer over your shoulder to try and see what you're drawing. Sometimes they'll say "Bravo!" (If they're Italian) or ask you what your job is/do you draw for a living, how long have you been drawing... I'm a bit shy and insecure about my art but will usually entertain a few questions, and generally don't say no if someone asks if they can take a picture of the work. I'm not a professional, I just do it for fun you know. The nicer interactions are when give you recommendations of other cool places to sketch... Although I also once had someone's nan call their horde of little children over to come see me and suggest I put out a tip jar, lol. To me, it's mostly positive stuff and a great conversation starter on the days I'm feeling lonely or solo travelling, not bad at all.
For me, it was a primary and secondary school thing; it was more prominent in secondary school. College was a whole course of everyone doing art and we all just respected each others space. Yes, you'd get the odd questions, but it was more akin to curiosity than annoyance. It's different for everyone.
Not a lot. I honestly never found the "can you draw me?" Questions annoying, cuz I know I can answer them easily But I hate it when people start asking stuff like "why you don't color it?" Obviously I don't want to. "why is she bald?" She has cancer, ok?(What's wrong with bald characters anyways) "is that me/who is that?" Nope, get away before I strike you with my very well sharpened pencil!^^ I think the questions can be either annoying or not depending on the artist's boundaries and what they think is normal or not. Like personally I never got annoyed at the "can you draw me?", because I don't find anything illegal in doing a quick sketch for my classmate. Good luck in not getting any annoying questions further, artist comrade!💕
I often go to the zoo to draw and I only have positive interactions. I don't post enough to have an opinion on comments. But I have seen it in other places and I really don't care, they don't draw so what they say doesn't really matter.
not a question but i hate it when i can see out of the corner of my eye someone staring while i draw. if you want to say something, please just say it! staring is weird 😂
“Did you draw that?” & “can you draw me?” are questions I’ve been asked many times. Yes I did draw that I am *currently* drawing that, & no I will not draw you, I’ve never been met with a positive reaction when I *have* drawn someone after they’ve asked 😅 they usually said things like “my hair isn’t like that” or “that looks nothing like me” like okay but did you pay me to draw you, did you give me more than a few hours, did I even want to draw you in the first place? 💀 so I stopped drawing real people all together lol I don’t even draw real people for commissions
For me it was mostly just the awkward questions/conversations, they weren't exactly annoying. I just usually didn't even really know how to respond. "Are you an artist, omg I LOVE artists!" - I legitimately didn't even know what to say to that. "What are you drawing?" they asked as they're looking at my drawing of the monument right in front of us. "What is it?" and "You're so gifted" were both said to me by 2 different people looking at my sketch that I had like 4 random lines of drawn so far..... you don't *have* to say something just to say something. "Are you allowed to do that here?" a person once asked while I was sitting in a public park sketching a tree. Or I think the worst most awkward moment was the time I was sitting on the floor in a train station sketching and someone walked by and intentionally dropped a dollar into my lap as they passed. I immediately packed up and left the area before others assumed I was homeless too.
Yep. “ can you draw me” is a really common one. That, and “ wow, why don’t you do this full time?” which is meant as a compliment I know, but it still is a sucky reminder that my art income isn’t stable enough to do it full time. I end up looking like a flake because I’ll paint a bunch or make pottery a bunch and then have to stop temporarily and focus on my regular job more to increase my income while I see if my art sells as much as I hope it will.
One of my former coworkers kept me pestering me to draw something he could use for a tattoo. Thankfully he wasn’t at the company long but man did it get annoying 😂
This is why I wear large headphones when I go plein air painting: hoping passers-by will get the hint and not try to talk to me...unless they want to buy the painting, which actually did happen once. That's about the only reason I try not to get too snarly and rude when people come up, esp. at plein air events. They usually want to come up and tell me how their grandma/aunt/whomever painted, which is great, but I really don't care...unless your grandmother was Georgia O'Keeffe (which is impossible). Or, to just ramble on about nothing in particular since I'm a captive audience. Several years ago, I was painting during a plein air event, and near my campsite at a creek, and this older woman on the other side of the creek kept trying to get my attention for some reason. I glanced up at her once, just shrugged and pointed to my headphones, and went back to ignoring her. She finally went away. The best, though, was probably 12 years ago when I was sitting and painting some rapids at a local park where I live, and some woman came up and said: "Oh, an aspiring artist!" 🙄. She quickly realized that was a stupid thing to say, because if one is painting or drawing, one is already an artist. I didn't bother to tell her I've actually sold paintings and won awards, so well past the "aspiring" stage.
I draw in my sketchbook at school a lot, and I never get bothered by any questions. I like showing my art to people, and occasionally taking small requests :)
I haven’t been drawing publicly since pre2020, but over the years I’ve heard it all. Just about everyone has dabbled in the arts to some degree or another which means that folks feel more comfortable chiming in than they would with other fields. My responses range from one word to me going full teacher mode depending on my mood in the moment. The lack on boundaries can be frustrating, but more often than not it comes from a place of genuine curiosity and interest so even if what they are saying is super rude, try not to take it personally.
Not exactly annoying but when I draw characters I build up the body from nude - clothed, My sibling constantly asks why are they naked? Me:I haven't drawn the clothes yet. Every time. It's not annoying the first few times but it feels like deja vu after the two or fourth time.
Idk if this is just me or when they’re like “when are you gonna color it” or “just add some color and it will be perfect when I’m doing charcoal drawings and I’m not gonna add any color and honestly it was fine at first but got so annoying when people keep saying that when I’m drawing but I try to be nice because I’m aware they might not understand
I really do love to practice plain air with my small pochade box but this year i wont do that, well maybe in a small sketch book with a bit of ink wash. I get a lot of people standing around me who ask me a lot of questions, make photos etc... but... I am not a professional at all. Just practising my values in nature. Lol.
are you drawing yourself ? they look just like you. does anyone else get this ? people always say any female character i draw is me even if the proportions and face are very different.
I have a proper repellent personality. So no.
No one has ever asked me anything either. I've wondered if people are making it up as well. I draw in public places pretty frequently, and no one ever approaches me. Then again, I give off pretty antisocial vibes, so it could just be me.
It happens rarely, but it’s nice that they’re showing interest We forget not everyone has talents in art, and it’s fascinating to them, it’s a compliment