Interview Summary Featured

Ahmed Aldoori X Schoolism Interview Summary

This week we take you through Ahmed Aldoori's personal journey. In his interview with Schoolism, he gives some fantastic insights on art education, building social media as an artist, mental health, and more.

Midnight Gang

Apr 17, 2022 • 6 min read

Beware the storm by Ahmed Aldoori

Content Table

Key Quotes & Insights

Ahmed: Health is like one of the most important aspects of creativity and I noticed that because of my sleep rhythm and lack of exercise. I’d feel drained and I would only get a few hours of work done and I wouldn’t even enjoy the art.

Ahmed: Accept what the obstacles are; that’s just the cards you are dealt with. And, if it’s something you can do something about it, just do it.

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You definitely don’t need to go to ArtCenter or any other college to make it as an artist. The resources are out there now and there isn’t much information that you actually need to learn to be an amazing artist. At the end of the day, it just comes down to first-hand experience.

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Oftentimes, when we think about art and the process, we tend to ignore the mental aspects associated with it. While “art block” is often brought up in conversations, we never truly get to the bottom of this supposed block- the reason being that these blocks are personalized to each and every one of us. To genuinely be the best artist we can be, we need to spend more time analyzing and ridding ourselves of what is truly causing these issues.

Full Summary

2:17 - Ahmed introduces himself.

4:21 - Bobby asks Ahmed whether or not he worries about making his designs functional.

Art Education

7:12 - Ahmed explains his experience at ArtCenter.

7:40 - Ahmed:

When people ask me if they should go to ArtCenter I usually say no (...) There are so many different options like Brainstorm or CDA. All these other things are offering the same content (...) If you want that experience of being at a bootcamp and being around other people who are also suffering doing that much work... I guess? But I don’t think it’s worth that two hundred thousand dollar price tag.

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10:10 - Bobby and Ahmed discuss learning post-professionally.

11:38 - Ahmed explains the importance teaching has made in his art journey

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If you feel like you’ve mastered something, maybe try to teach it to a friend. You might find some gaps in your own knowledge...

14:00 Ahmed's secret sauce to success on Patreon and YouTube.

18:00 Ahmed and Bobby chat about their very first YouTube video.

19:30 - Bobby asks Ahmed how long he has started to focus his energy on Patreon rather than client work.

20:59 - Ahmed explains working as an independent content creator:

At first, I treated as “Oh Cool! I’m free and can do whatever I want; stay up to 5am” Big mistake. (...) Health is like one of the most important aspects of creativity and I noticed that because of my sleep rhythm and lack of exercise. I’d feel drained and I would only get a few hours of work done and I wouldn’t even enjoy the art. If you don’t have a routine or a healthy schedule and social life where you’re connecting with people, it’s a lot of suffering.

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Make sure that you take care of yourself as you work. It might seem obvious but, when your life is centered around creating, learning, and improving, forgetting about self-care can be really detrimental to both your quality of life and work.

21:54 - Ahmed and Bobby discuss the detrimental effects of social media.

22:29 - Ahmed explains how he’s stepped away from social media and hopes that he can find a healthy way to return.

27:31 - Ahmed explains how he doesn’t think Patreon is for everyone.

I like the idea of artists being supported by fans, but it’s [Patreon] a different ball game.

32:22 - Bobby and Ahmed discuss identity and what it means to be a professional artist vs. content creator.

34:00 How did Bobby come up with LightBox Expo and Schoolism?

Motivation & Mental Health

38:57 - Bobby asks Ahmed where his motivation comes from.

39:27 - Ahmed explains how he feels like he procrastinates a lot. But, when there are group projects or group challenges, he gets things done faster.

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If you struggle a lot with motivation, getting group work done or working on an art challenge might help you with the motivation needed to produce more.

42:19 - Bobby asks Ahmed what caused his mental health issues.

Ahmed:

It was my whole life... I guess. I think that everyone has their own programming and the way they view the world, be it from friends and family or bullies at school. For me, the thing that I can point to is that whenever I would draw or paint, I would feel physical tightening up of the diaphragm, as if I was defensively holding up as if someone would strike. In a metaphorical way of course.

44:22 - Ahmed talks about how he struggled with introversion and feeling “different” growing up.

Ahmed:

Art was my way to make friends because that was my saving strong suit, because I could show how cool I was. And I did get friends out of that (...) But, then it because like this currency, like I had to ensure that I did impressive art or I wouldn’t be accepted.

47:23 - Ahmed explains how he began to identify his own identity with how good of an artist he was. He explains how he would feel disappointed if his art wasn’t the best when compared to others.

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There is nothing wrong with using art to impress others. However, when your art starts to become your identity, it might be best to take a step back and think about how it's affecting your mental health.

50:21 - Ahmed and Bobby explore how small insecurities or experiences early in life shaped their artwork.

52:33 - Bobby explains how he would feel overwhelmed with social media if he were to be any less secure with himself.

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There is so much negativity and toxicity on social media. Trying to navigate through all of the gunk can be taxing on a growing artist. Think about how social media affects your work. Do you need to or is it necessary to take a step back in order to propel your own work forwards?

53:36 - Ahmed compares art back in the day with art on the internet.

56:30 - Bobby:

There are some people out there where it’s like, everything they post is a complete home run, giant grand slam. They don't post every day. Like a series, if its a good enough series, they can go for without a season for a full year, year and a half.

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If the pressure of posting consistently feeds your insecurity and fear, try only posting your best work without worrying about being consistent.

Advice

57:45 - Ahmed on the best advice he would give to artists:

Everyone has their obstacles, whether it’s money, or skills, or they literally don’t have a hand... I don’t know what it might be. But, accept what the obstacles are, that’s just the cards you are dealt with. And, if it’s something you can do something about it, just do it. (...) The part that I’m really interested about for every student that I have is getting their heart and their mind in the right place (...) If you are destroyed or traumatized from your past, you’re not gonna be your fullest potential self. So my advice would be to be introspective, understand, and be objectively aware about what it is about you and try to be in control of that.

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