Sketch: 1. a simple, rough drawing or design, done rapidly and without much detail. 2. a brief plan or description of major parts or points; outline. To draw or describe quickly or in outline; make a sketch of.

Likewise,

Sketchy: 1. having the form of a sketch; presenting only major parts or points; not detailed. 2. lacking completeness; rough; inadequate.

While my dictionary is old, I think it’s safe to assume that the definition of sketch has not changed since 1972.

Paying special attention to the use of the word “inadequate” under “sketchy”, I would like to pose a question. Why do people expect a lot from a sketch?

On an online forum, if you post a sketch, openly warn that it is just a sketch and is not your 100%, even say you’ll put something better up later, you will eventually get this response:

“’It’s just a sketch’ isn’t an excuse.”

(Note, for interest, that in some cases, this snide critic will insert the word “we”, implying that the jerk hierarchy on this particular art forum has banded together and made official rules, and offenders will be punished to the full extent of their laws.)

Now contrast that to the legitimate definition of “sketchy.”

“lacking completeness; rough; inadequate.”

What I’m getting at is that it IS an excuse, and probably one of the best available.

This is but one problem with serious art forums. If there were a better supply of manga artwork communities, I wouldn’t even bother- but the only things I’ve found are DeviantArt and random “fan art” forums on anime bulletin boards. It’s a big challenge to get anyone to look, let alone leave a comment, through these means. Serious art forums (I keep on using that phrase) are brimming with people. But they don’t respect certain types of people.

I’m not saying that manga artists are better than, or even equal, to those who have pursued and/or mastered realism. But I do have a problem with the fact that those who spend their time developing a personal style in step with that of Japanese comics get no respect. I think we deserve something. But instead, we are placed at the level of 5-year-olds drawing portraits of their families with crayons.

It could theoretically even be argued that drawing manga is harder than realism. While drawing realistically, you can interpret things exactly, by looking at things around you. With manga, it’s in your head. You have to draw from that, without the aid of reality.

(Note: I don’t agree with this argument - it’s crap. I’m just saying that yes, it could be argued.)

Whether we’re respected or not, people could still be helpful. People who look at your work and say that you absolutely have to study realism to get anywhere (I am not elaborating or embellishing these comments, here), without actually saying what their problem is with it, have become my biggest pet peeve. It could be that they don’t actually have a problem per se- it could be that they reject it instantly, judging it to not be real art.

The worst thing, perhaps, is that people who put goldfish in a blender and set in on “puree” in a yuppy art gallery are taken seriously - yet people who spend a lot of time developing a legitimate style to create things that aren’t disgusting, aren’t.

The following are three steps to successful criticism on art: 1: State your problem. (Example: “The perspective on the arm is a bit confusing.”)

2: State a possible way to remedy the problem. (Example: “If you adjusted the shading, it might make more sense.”) 3: State something good about the piece. (Example: “The pleats on the skirt are awesome, thoug.”) If you are unwilling to follow the three steps while commenting on a drawing, don’t comment at all. You know who you are. (Carriestar800@aol.com- I’d love to get a comment or two on this especially. Even hate mail.) (See my page at thewebcomiclist.com- http://thewebcomiclist.com/p/3320/kage-to-odoru - I’d love to see a review, my ranking could really use the help.)

It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to write about this time around.

I'm sitting here, watching Animal Cops Houston, and its reminding me of the many times I've experienced animal abuse coming through the petstore I work at. Its so astonishing... How many times I've seen it, how easy it is now to spot it, to spot the lies surrounding it. Its frightening, too.

Probably my first experience at the store with an abuse case was a abused iguana. So many of these have since come in, that they meld together in my memory. Usually, they come in cramped into cages with barely enough room to turn around, filth covering the bottom of the cage. The physical problems are far worse then the caging, though, as many are covered in mites so bad that itlooks as if their very skin is crawling. Their faces are deformed from nutritional problems that will more likely never be treatable, and very often their tails have been broken off from improper handling. Even sadder, these iguana's usually come in with the tag "evil" on them, like it is the lizards fault they are in this condition. More often then not, I'll find they are perfectly sweet apon handling, or are "man-haters" because often college age guys buy them and then they or their friends torment the iggy, making it mean towards men.

I've also seen animals come in so bad I didn't think they'd make the night. One, a ferret that was a sack of bones and shook so bad we had to put a heat lamp on her - it took alot of work, but she survived. Another, a hamster that someone bought for their daughter... Who never fed her. She didn't get help in time to save her life. Chinchillas intrusted to parents who didn't want to take care of them while their daughter was in college. Sons leaving their snakes in the garages for their snake-fearing mom's to hopefully feed. The list continues on.

Most recently, we worked with animal controllto remove the "exotics" from the house of a frequent costomer of ours. I didn't get a chance to enter the house, but I saw the -few- animals that made it out alive. Starved chinchillas, sick monitors, dying snakes, aggressive and paranoid birds, screaming sugar gliders. The owner of our store talked about some of the creatures "left" at the house - The ones who had been dead so long only the bleached bones remained, or they had dried still looking alive, nothing more then the husks of skins. A cage of mice in which all the mice had died, leaving nothing but a carpet of white fur.

This, from a 40 year old man, living with family, who didn't have a life or have to pay rent. In the end, he had the gall to come back to our store and ask for some of his snakes back.

Being a petstore, we can't afford vet care for everyone. Most of these guys we've learned to treat ourselves, and considering the odds we've been up against, I think I've learned how to save these lifes well. But...It wears on me. I don't mind taking life, like those of mice and rats, for snakes to eat. Thats for the continuation of life though. Wasted life sickens me like nothing else.

Well, this has been your morbid rant of the day, hope you now have a greater understanding of the emotions of those behind the counter at your petstores.