Extra, Extra! Internet Threatening to Ruin Artists! Wait, Wha…?

You know what I heard an artist blaming for her lack in sales the other day? THE INTERNET. I’m not even kidding. The Internet wasn’t at fault for just that either, according to her it was also to blame for “the economy”. I had to bite my tongue.

This is a perfect case of people refusing to educate themselves. I know it’s in our nature as humans to resist change, been there done that. But the rules have changed, and the new game is all about the Internet. Artists are no exception; in fact, they’re the ones that stand to benefit most of all from the rise of the Internet.

The ‘net has served as a vital tool for artists to not only put themselves out there and showcase their work, it’s been a way for artists to connect with other artists and learn from the best. If you’d told me at five years old that one day I’d be learning straight from some of my cartoonist idols as a kid, I would have thought you were crazy. Used to be getting out there and finding who you admired or aspired to be was the only way. If the Internet can help me learn from the best out there and hone my skills as an artist, how can it possibly be a bad thing?

The problem is, people who don’t understand the Internet are looking at it as something outside the world instead of for what it really is: a tool for connecting to the rest of the world. Copyright laws? Same rules apply. Marketing and selling your content? Same rules apply. Sure, there are those out there in the online world who could plagiarize and steal your work, but there are also those out there in the offline world who could mug you and steal your wallet. Same rules apply.

Take a look around. The web has done more to bolster the arts than it has to hinder them. I’ve seen artists connect and amazing talent discovered, and we owe it all to the Internet. Not only that, we now have the capability to get our art out to a wider audience than ever before – and really, isn’t that the point?

Blaming the Internet is like blaming the printing press; sounds ridiculous, right? Like I explored in my July post, we can’t keep sticking our noses up at shifts in technology. As awesome as the Internet is, it’s still just a tool; and as any artist knows, it’s not the tools we use to make and sell our art, but the art we make and sell.

Tanya Marcy is a writer and artist with a love for marketing, online media, and the independent arts. She blogs at stickTnotes, where you can find her story tips and tricks, and her ideas about being a creative artist in today’s changing world. Check out her own art at deviantART and sample her writing at Figment

 

Jessenovels Podcast EP 1

Here it is friends, my very first podcast on YOUTUBE.com check it out and let me know what you think?

 

AVENGERS MOVIE REVIEW

This Friday I went to see the first ever bringing together of the greatest Marvel  superheroes to the big screen known as the AVENGERS! If you didn’t know to begin with, I am a huge comic freak and 100% nerd to the bone! Who in the hell doesn’t want to see Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, THOR altogether kicking ass! And if you’re looking for an ass kicking film, then look no further. This baby is drenched with it, with SMASH on the side! You even get the THOR vs. HULK match-up and IRON MAN vs. THOR vs. CAPTAIN AMERICA wet dream fanfic?

            It packs a nice style of comedy with our heroes during some fight scenes and with the villain Loki who is hell bent in brining earth down since his last encounter in THOR. Now, the numbers have been huge for this franchise and people are begging for more. So, you think with such praises I would give it a 5 out of 5. BUT, I can not. And here is the “why”

            For one, the storyline is rushed off the bat. We’re tossed in a whirlwind without having enough time to really enjoy the chaos, it’s a theme that carries on through out the film. Captain America is a new era, we’re told he’s having a tough time adjusting, but it’s never seen, not once. Only with some small practical jokes thrown here and there, but not really enough to show us the deep scars that lie within. Thor returns to earth, but isn’t show how. That’s the issue that bugged me, it’s almost as though Thor came back, nuff said, don’t think about, not for a second… do I have to wait until the next movie to find out? If so, that kinda sucks.

             Of course we also have Black Widow, whose 2D to the bone, she’s tough, she’s an agent, she cares for Hawkeye with all her heart, ah yes, Hawkeye another hero that we’re told to care about, but frankly I couldn‘t. Yet we’re meant to have all these emotions for these characters  in a span of 2 minutes. If this was done on any other film, critics would have bashed it and fans would have tossed to the fire. This film should not get a pass on merely because it’s the Avengers.

            The fight scenes were outstanding, well done. But the way the characters looked defeated for a mere two to five minutes then somehow came together and formed a plan to stop this threat, made me bash my head against the wall. For example, Thor is in a field, tries to pick up his hammer…but can’t after getting defeated by Loki… few minutes later random scene he grabs his hammer thunder strikes down and he finds his well to fight. COME ON! At least give us something, what was Thor thinking about? Or at least a flash back to he and Loki as kids or his father speaking words of wisdom. I understand the film could only be 2 hours and 25 minutes, but you have to give us a little something than just take our word he‘s sad but he‘s better now.

            Yes, we’ve all been dying to see the Avengers and we got it, but, is it the film we deserve? No, not by a long shot. Even though some have told me wait for Iron Man 3, Thor 2 , Captain American 2 and the Avengers 2 to get the whole picture… that’s where my BIGGER issue lies. Are we going to see rushed films meant to sell one thing, the next Avengers movie? If that’s the reasoning to it, I just have to shake my head.

             Story wise this franchise just gives me a headache. Look no further than IRON 2 which was a total bust. Now look at the first Iron Man and you’ll known it was on to something, the second part just ran off the cliff and burned. Mainly to put focus on the Avengers movie. Captain America started off great, then rushed to the end without giving us a look into the belly of the beast that was Red Skull, who was misused in that film, so many darker ways you could have gone, but they just ended up making look like an Austin Powers villain. I know I’ll get some heat for that.

            In the end, I got to see my heroes on screen, but I didn’t get to feel the connection to their troubles or heartaches to come with this film, they just felt soulless. Though, I do not dispute that it won’t break records seeing how it’s a big target with kids and families; to let their inner geek come out to play.

            The Avengers is a first of it’s kind, I point to you the Tim Burton Batman franchise, when it came out it was awesome sauce , then Christopher Nolan came and showed us how much BETTER, someone else can retell the story. The Avengers are in a league of it’s own, for now. I will hand them this, they sticked to the source material as much as they could, and I applaud them for that.

            Yes this franchise can  sell, but will they become an icon for the ages, I have to say no. Not if the next films can take a drop into somewhere dark and start putting the lives of it’s heroes at risk and show them they are nothing but flesh and blood.. Then, they might just be an image no one in the world will be able to compete with. Till then, I’m giving the AVENGERS a 3.5 out of 5.

Let the comments rain down on my page like the wrath of THOR   

Jesse Abundis