rant + a question!

i've been sick for the last few days which gave me an opportunity to finally put work aside and spend some valuable time clearing out my deviantart message center. as usual, this always puts a huge smile on my face, thanks to all of your wonderful comments, praise, encouragement, tips, and so on. thank you guys so much for that - i know there are lots of people who think i don't read their comments, but i read them all and they mean more to me than you think! it also always gets me thinking about my own art and how others percieve it.

one thing i notice is that different people like my art for different reasons. generally, the more girly, pinup-like artwork gets the most positive feedback, while many others feel that i draw too much of that and should branch out to other things. some people enjoy my sketches a lot more than my finished artwork, whereas others really enjoy the more polished stuff. of course, that's normal, everyone has different opinions and taste.

personally, i've been indicisive about my own art for a REALLY long time now. actually, ever since high school. i have a style of digital painting that i'm happy with, but which i also find hard to break free from, probably because i have a tendency to stay in the 'safe zone' with my paintings. besides the digital paintings you'll find on deviantart, i also do freelance work which varies enormously. i've worked on interactive animation, concept art, digital painting tutorials, portraits, game illustrations... some required me to use my digital painting style, but others didn't. next to the digital painting and freelance work, i've also been conceptualizing my own animation project, working on an art book, and other personal projects which keep getting interrupted by work.

why do i bring all those things up? well, it's hard to really figure out what forms my identity as an 'artist'. next to the stuff i've already done, i also have potential to improve at things, and figuring out what that will be takes some decision-making. some days i wake up and decide that i simply must pursue a career as a concept artist, and start doodling things along that line. the next day i wake up and think: my calling is as a digital painter, i have to go for that 100%! and then the next day, i suddenly want to animate for the rest of my life. ok, i realize i don't have to do ANY of these things 100%; i can always keep combining them. but this indicisiveness is tough!

anyway, this is a long personal story... but yeah. i see it as a good thing because i have a lot of options. but it's also a bit limiting to be so undecided, and i definitely notice that it drains my inspiration for digital painting. i get plenty of criticism for not having enough variety in my work and not doing more with the skills i have, which is tough because i actually really agree with that. i want to do so much more! but then i'm not sure if i actually do want to improve my digital paintings, or if i actually want to just focus on telling stories with animation instead...? etc etc. you get the idea.

anyways, my question to you guys is: what would you guys like to see me draw? what is the kind of stuff that would really excite you if i posted it here? this is purely out of curiosity. you guys have a fresh and ethusiastic state of mind which i notice in the comments i get. people can point out what they like about my art or suggest things that spark my creativity. where i tend to blank out on ideas, you guys have a much fresher point of view. i'd love to get your opinions on where my art is heading and what you think i could do with it, just so i can get thinking about that as well and maybe get a little more motivated!

thanks for reading!