Too Many People, Trying Too Hard...

Many of us trying to make a living with what we love to do are getting sucked into the machine of becoming a product rather than just making our art. I recently read an article by Penny Arcade that said, 

"There are a handful of young artists I know who turn a skeptical eye to the golden promises the professionalization of the arts hold out. I am always happy when I have conversations with these holdouts because it is distressing to see how many really talented people give in to the demands of the market place.Yet we live at a time where the infiltration of the marketplace is almost impossible to avoid, for anyone including older artists like me. It is a constant struggle to not give in the forces that demand dumbing down and homogenization.It takes takes enormous vigilance to not succumb to it’s tyranny, to honor your own trajectory, no matter how modest it may seem in the eyes of the world.There is simply no substitute for the developmental arc, no matter what you engage in, making art or being a shoemaker. Once you develop your vocabulary and your personal style it is very easy to make your art into product but in focusing on making product, you lose out on learning how to make art." 

It is inevitable you will be judged, hated, and idealized when you have any semblance of success as an artist, maker, designer, etc. Your art is not a product. Don't make it a product. Keep it close to your heart. Don't let it be taken away from you and made into something else.