My 8-year-old niece just asked me why I never draw happy robots

I was showing her my latest piece, this moody cyberpunk street scene I spent about 15 hours on. It had rain, neon, and a bunch of robots that looked pretty beat up. She tilted her head and said, 'Your robots look sad. Do they not get to play?' It hit me that I've been stuck in this one gritty style for years, thinking 'serious' art was the only good art. I make all my bots rusty, broken, or fighting. She made me realize I'm not showing a full world, just the part I think is cool. Now I'm trying to sketch a cheerful little robot painting a mural. It's harder than it sounds. Has anyone else had a kid point out a blind spot in their art style?

2 comments

2 Comments

viola_cooper621mo agoTop Commenter

Honestly, that "do they not get to play" question would stop me in my tracks too.

ryan_stone1mo ago

Wow, kids really do cut right to the point, don't they? That's a pretty cool wake-up call.