DeathSurplus

 DeathSurplus is a website I created to keep track of my art projects, themed as an evil grocery store. It serves several purposes:
 1. Allows me to show other people what I’m working on
 2. Allows me to remember, for myself, how much I’ve actually done
 3. Reminds me to finish projects that are in progress
 4. Reminds me that art is a hobby
 5. Frees myself from craving validation
 6. Shows me how important it is to just keep doing stuff, no matter if I finish it or what it actually is

 These principles, the last one especially, are the core of what the site is about. As nice as it is to finish projects, to make elaborate, complex pieces, or to do art exercises with improvement in mind, it is also okay to just do whatever the hell I like. As long as I’m doing some form of art, that is progress. All of my skills are connected– even if I only finish five illustrations per year, as long as I’ve been doing any of my related skills regularly, I will still improve.
 I personally despise the idea that you must draw every single day to get better, and if you don’t you’re “”””losing””””. First of all: hobby artists do not need to be good at their art. Second of all: you don’t have to make art every single day to get better. If you want to get better faster, then yes, you should work a little every day at least. The more you pursue your skill the better you’ll get, but that doesn’t mean that you have to listen to the “good” artists about how they did it, or follow the “good” artists’ special plans that promise improvement in X weeks if you just draw X amount every day. Chances are, you’re talking to a professional, and their advice is not useful for your skill level. Unless you want to be a professional, take their advice with a grain of salt.
 On top of that, though, this site allows me to share my art without associating it with “likes”. What the hell are likes? I don’t enjoy feeling inferior because I didn’t earn the amount of fake points I think I deserve. I think one of the major pitfalls of social media comes in the form of ascribing value to posts. By just posting my stuff into the void that is my site (no comments, no likes, no view counter), I am able to share what I want without immediately having a rating system shoved onto my content. Art is what it is. As a hobby artist I encourage anyone and everyone to abandon social media and understand that your art is not good or bad– it just is.