The reason why art is not a social thing is because it takes a very long time to draw. While sketching is quick and easy, anything beyond it takes a long time. Lining, painting, perspective, etc, all take a long time to setup and get right. This is, of course, ignoring the amount of time spent pulling up references, researching how certain things work, and putting a cohesive design together. That's why drawpiles aren't something I join regularly.
I think /ic/ has a userbase which primarily focuses on the sketching part of drawing and doesn't develop those ideas further. Additionally, many users across /ic/ related discords have this mentality that drags others down to protect their own egos. I've seen people compare themselves to artists much better than them skill wise, only to argue that they themselves are better because they can produce a sketch "purely from imagination."
Most /ic/ related discords operate on a specific set of rules where only a small subset of the art world is considered "acceptable," and only when performed in a specific manner. I believe this is done so that the owner of these servers can create specific conditions to present themselves as someone knowledgeable or skilled, when they are, in fact, just as clueless as everyone else. It's very hard to challenge the ideas in these servers if you are new to the art world, because it feels like you are challenging the entire notion of artistry. It is excessively uncomfortable to be in these communities that, for whatever reason, look for new members to join constantly, only to use these people as a means to feed the egos of the already established social circle(s) in the server. The worst part about these communities is that the people in them tell you that they are your friends, that they are acting in your own best interests, when they are only using inexperienced, impressionable, or otherwise defenseless users to feed their hunger for attention and validation.
Don't join /ic/ discords.
