# Is there any good reason to delete old/bad art?



## Kopatropa (Dec 13, 2017)

Whenever someone asks about deleting old/bad art, most responses are along the lines of "Keep the old/bad art so you and your watchers can see the improvement (if any) over the years". My response to that is, what if the artist really, truly doesn't like the old/bad art? Then they should be able to delete it without regrets, right? Maybe if they're a professional?

I dunno. What do you think? Should disliked art be kept regardless or not?


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## Mikazuki Marazhu (Dec 13, 2017)

Well they can delete it if they want but I'd suggest they archive it just in case they want to showcase their improvement. 

Maybe move it to scrap?


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## Inkblooded (Dec 13, 2017)

If you want to delete it, delete it. You are the artist, you make the decision.
I delete old and bad art all the time.


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## Dongding (Dec 14, 2017)

My old bad art is the only art people fave...


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## Owlletta (Dec 18, 2017)

Sometimes I delete art that I have absolutely no love for and didn't help me learn anything, or if it seems really out of place in my gallery. I agree with keep some art that you feel shows how you've improved.


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## Nyashia (Dec 19, 2017)

Maybe you should warn your watchers before you delete your old art. That way, the have the chance to save copies on their computers. 

Another good reason, why I would delete old art is because it shows something really personal and I don't want it to be public anymore.


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## Sunburst_Odell (Dec 19, 2017)

I usually unlist my old artwork on DA because I just can't stand it. My old art was really, really bad and I despise it. Not worth it to me.

But I only do it to my art from 2015 because that was where the real stinkers were.


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## silveredgreen (Dec 19, 2017)

Nobody is gonna tell you that you have to keep old art. If you wanna delete it, go ahead. However, its recommended so you can look back on it and see how much you've improved.


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## KILL.MAIM.KILL (Dec 19, 2017)

Bullshit to that _keep it so you can see your improvement_ thing. 
I'd only recommend that if you're a severe masochist who enjoys embarrassing themselves.
Why would you want to advertise how bad you were before?
No. Old and ugly art goes into the flaming trash can, where it belongs.


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## silveredgreen (Dec 20, 2017)

KILL.MAIM.KILL said:


> Bullshit to that _keep it so you can see your improvement_ thing.
> I'd only recommend that if you're a severe masochist who enjoys embarrassing themselves.
> Why would you want to advertise how bad you were before?
> No. Old and ugly art goes into the flaming trash can, where it belongs.



Its not advertising how bad you were before, its showing off how much you've improved since then. People keep old art to redraw it later and then post em side by side to display their improvement since then.


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## Casey Fluffbat (Dec 20, 2017)

If it makes me cringe, delete.


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## KILL.MAIM.KILL (Dec 20, 2017)

silveredgreen said:


> Its not advertising how bad you were before, its showing off how much you've improved since then. People keep old art to redraw it later and then post em side by side to display their improvement since then.



If your art is good, you don't need to compare it to shitty art. If you feel like you have to compare, you're probably not that good.


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## silveredgreen (Dec 20, 2017)

KILL.MAIM.KILL said:


> If your art is good, you don't need to compare it to shitty art. If you feel like you have to compare, you're probably not that good.



No... that's not even remotely true. Where are you even getting this logic from?

A lot of artists, including myself, struggle with confidence in their art style. For us, having old art to look back to and compare helps us see how much we've improved and helps restore our confidence in our work. The only way to really see the improvement is by looking back.

For artists with no doubts about their art, its just fun to show off how far they've come since they began.


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## Pipistrele (Dec 20, 2017)

Welp, the fact that I started doing animations and drawings for the wrong reason (to get attention rather than to create something), which is not art as much as just vanity, and not something I'm willing no use as an example for either myself or others. That, and the fact that I still put some my stuff out on FA and DA for people to see, it's reasonable to remove all the dumb crap, since it only clutters my gallery and doesn't do anything good for anyone.


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## KILL.MAIM.KILL (Dec 20, 2017)

silveredgreen said:


> No... that's not even remotely true. Where are you even getting this logic from?
> 
> A lot of artists, including myself, struggle with confidence in their art style. For us, having old art to look back to and compare helps us see how much we've improved and helps restore our confidence in our work. The only way to really see the improvement is by looking back.
> 
> For artists with no doubts about their art, its just fun to show off how far they've come since they began.



I'm not stopping you. If you want to show off your old art, go ahead. It's _your _art after all.
It's really kind of idiotic to encourage others to do the same though. 
There's a reason we perceive old art to be bad. You didn't have the same skill level back then.

There's literally no reason to keep it unless you want to feel bad about how you didn't start out good.
Like I would ever want to advertise that I used to be completely awful at art.
Better to erase the evidence that you were ever less than the best. Nobody needs to know.
And if you're selling art, old shit is only going to damage your business, isn't it? Show them that you're consistently good and ONLY good.


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## silveredgreen (Dec 20, 2017)

KILL.MAIM.KILL said:


> I'm not stopping you. If you want to show off your old art, go ahead. It's _your _art after all.
> It's really kind of idiotic to encourage others to do the same though.
> There's a reason we perceive old art to be bad. You didn't have the same skill level back then.
> 
> ...



Nobody is ever *good* at art when they begin, getting good takes time and effort. Everyone who begins drawing is going to be bad, _everyone._ The point of things like "draw this again" and "art progression" memes is to show off how far you've come and how much better you are after years of practice.

As for the commission thing, you don't display your old art as an example. Only your new stuff is displayed as an example and any old art posted is clearly labeled as such, or included in a side by side with newer stuff in comparison format. Artists who take commissions are allowed to treat their accounts like social accounts you know, and some even hold separate accounts meant exclusively for business while keeping their main as a social account.

Keep in mind i only recommended the op keep old art for that reason, but i'm not forcing them. If they wanna delete it, that's their choice. I just gave reasons why i recommend keeping it.


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## KILL.MAIM.KILL (Dec 20, 2017)

silveredgreen said:


> Nobody is ever *good* at art when they begin, getting good takes time and effort. Everyone who begins drawing is going to be bad, _everyone._ The point of things like "draw this again" and "art progression" memes is to show off how far you've come and how much better you are after years of practice.
> 
> As for the commission thing, you don't display your old art as an example. Only your new stuff is displayed as an example and any old art posted is clearly labeled as such, or included in a side by side with newer stuff in comparison format. Artists who take commissions are allowed to treat their accounts like social accounts you know, and some even hold separate accounts meant exclusively for business while keeping their main as a social account.
> 
> Keep in mind i only recommended the op keep old art for that reason, but i'm not forcing them. If they wanna delete it, that's their choice. I just gave reasons why i recommend keeping it.



I beg to differ. 
Some people really do have natural talent.

I don't care how much anyone has "improved" or how bad they were before. 
The only thing that matters is if they're good _now. _I could not give less of a shit of what they were before.


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## silveredgreen (Dec 20, 2017)

KILL.MAIM.KILL said:


> I beg to differ.
> Some people really do have natural talent.
> 
> I don't care how much anyone has "improved" or how bad they were before.
> The only thing that matters is if they're good _now. _I could not give less of a shit of what they were before.



Nobody makes a masterpiece without trying (unless you're that idiot who calls a blank canvas modern art). People can have a natural eye for it but practice is still required.

And you aren't the only one that matters, you aren't the only one they need to please. If someone wants to compare, they can. Whether you care or not doesn't matter.


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## KILL.MAIM.KILL (Dec 20, 2017)

silveredgreen said:


> Nobody makes a masterpiece without trying (unless you're that idiot who calls a blank canvas modern art). People can have a natural eye for it but practice is still required.
> 
> And you aren't the only one that matters, you aren't the only one they need to please. If someone wants to compare, they can. Whether you care or not doesn't matter.



Idiot, you just said it yourself.
Some people have a natural eye for it.
Some people can quickly figure out how to draw really well without having to spend years drawing embarrassing childlike drawings.

If you want to make it in this world, you have to control your image, and that includes lying.
Nothing wrong with deleting evidence that you sucked.


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## silveredgreen (Dec 20, 2017)

KILL.MAIM.KILL said:


> Idiot, you just said it yourself.
> Some people have a natural eye for it.
> Some people can quickly figure out how to draw really well without having to spend years drawing embarrassing childlike drawings.
> 
> ...



"Having an eye for it" doesn't mean "can draw like a pro with no need to practice". It means some people learn a bit faster than others. I was considered a natural as a child, the best in my age group at art. I was in gifted and talented art groups throughout elementary and middle school, yet i still needed years of practice to get where i am today.

And lying about being a beginner once, and deleting 'evidence' isn't going to do anything. Every artist knows you sucked once, they will always know because its a fact of life that nobody is born able to draw like a professional video game concept artist or Disney animator. No amount of lying and deleting old works will convince them otherwise.


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## KILL.MAIM.KILL (Dec 20, 2017)

silveredgreen said:


> "Having an eye for it" doesn't mean "can draw like a pro with no need to practice". It means some people learn a bit faster than others. I was considered a natural as a child, the best in my age group at art. I was in gifted and talented art groups throughout elementary and middle school, yet i still needed years of practice to get where i am today.
> 
> And lying about being a beginner once, and deleting 'evidence' isn't going to do anything. Every artist knows you sucked once, they will always know because its a fact of life that nobody is born able to draw like a professional video game concept artist or Disney animator. No amount of lying and deleting old works will convince them otherwise.



Good god, is this how you speak in every conversation? 
You must be miserable to deal with in the real world.

I get the point, you want to show off your embarrassing old anime drawings for some masochistic reason.
Nobody's stopping you. I'm not stopping you. Go right ahead.

Doesn't mean the rest of us have to do it. 
I'm personally destroying anything imperfect, because I like preserving quality.

On a side note, I'm amused how you think Disney animation is the pinnacle of art.


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## silveredgreen (Dec 20, 2017)

KILL.MAIM.KILL said:


> Good god, is this how you speak in every conversation?
> You must be miserable to deal with in the real world.
> 
> I get the point, you want to show off your embarrassing old anime drawings for some masochistic reason.
> ...



So Ink, you believe speaking like a normal, logical person is bad? I'm calmly explaining my reasoning to you and you're insulting me and getting hostile. Please calm down and act like a civilized human being.

Back to my original point: If this person wants to delete their old art, they're fully within their rights to do so. I recommended keeping the old art for redraws and comparisons and gave my reasoning, but in no way am i forcing them to do so.

And before you ask, yes you are Inkblooded. You made the exact same jab at anime and Disney that Inkblooded made in an argument on referencing.


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## KILL.MAIM.KILL (Dec 20, 2017)

silveredgreen said:


> So Ink, you believe speaking like a normal, logical person is bad? I'm calmly explaining my reasoning to you and you're insulting me and getting hostile. Please calm down and act like a civilized human being.
> 
> Back to my original point: If this person wants to delete their old art, they're fully within their rights to do so. I recommended keeping the old art for redraws and comparisons and gave my reasoning, but in no way am i forcing them to do so.
> 
> And before you ask, yes you are Inkblooded. You made the exact same jab at anime and Disney that Inkblooded made in an argument on referencing.



Ooh, I'm Ink just because I hold an opinion on Western animation that isn't at all uncommon.
Wow! Your investigation skills are so sharp! You could make Sherlock Holmes himself look bad!

Jesus. This is pathetic.


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## silveredgreen (Dec 20, 2017)

KILL.MAIM.KILL said:


> Ooh, I'm Ink just because I hold an opinion on Western animation that isn't at all uncommon.
> Wow! Your investigation skills are so sharp! You could make Sherlock Holmes himself look bad!
> 
> Jesus. This is pathetic.



Its the fact that you specifically brought up anime despite the fact that nobody else ever did, just like he did in the argument about referencing.

He also phrased his negative opinion towards Disney in the exact same way you just did.

He also always gets combatative when someone disagrees with an opinion of his and calmly tries to explain, just like you've been doing this whole time.

He also posts threads meant to be negative towards a subject in some way, just like you did recently.

He also posts comments that are always worded in a provocative manner, which i've seen you do often but not always and hey maybe you're trying to be a somewhat decent person.

Maybe the reason you made this account is because you know your other one has an awful reputation and you wanted to start fresh.


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## KILL.MAIM.KILL (Dec 20, 2017)

silveredgreen said:


> Its the fact that you specifically brought up anime despite the fact that nobody else ever did, just like he did in the argument about referencing.
> 
> He also phrased his negative opinion towards Disney in the exact same way you just did.
> 
> ...



Most Western beginner artists draw anime.
So what?

"Calmly tries to explain?"
Are you for real? You quoted my post with a random accusation that I'm someone else.
How is that a _calm explanation_?

Ooh, I posted a negative thread. 
Are you blind? Half the people on this forum are negative. People post negative threads all the time.

But I started posting _when he was still active_. Why would I do that if I just wanted to start fresh?
And why the fuck would I act like a completely different person?

Take your tin foil hat off. You're humiliating yourself.


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## Sunburst_Odell (Dec 20, 2017)

Wow, this went from a simple thread about whether you delete your old art or not to a flame war.

I'm just gonna unwatch the thread now...


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## Ahashki (Dec 21, 2017)

No, its very awesome and cool to see your old art and going back and seeing how much you improved. i love the thought of this so much.


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## Yvvki (Dec 21, 2017)

If you are an illustrator and are trying to get hired in real life by a company, you need to get rid of any work that no longer represents you because they will find the bad stuff and it might lose you a career.

If you just do commissions online for a select people, most people online understand that your old art does not represent you anymore.

( Just like any job you want to put your best foot forward if you are looking for work at a company. Although if you are doing it on the side then you do not have to delete anything. )


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## Kopatropa (Sep 7, 2018)

I actually agree with @KILL.MAIM.KILL, in a way.

Some of my old drawings make me cringe so much that I feel like I should remove them. Forget "history" and "progression"; as an aspiring artist, you want your art to look presentable and likable. Crappy MSPaint drawings with similarly crappy subject matter don't say that.


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## BunBunArt (Sep 7, 2018)

If you don't feel comfortable, just do it, but don't delete them from your PC, you will end up missing them at some point 8(

The only place old art shouldn't be is in a portfolio to show when you want to apply for a job... In any other places is totally fine and it's even nice to see the progress.


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