History Main / ArtReflectsPersonality

* ''Anime/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'': In a Kyouya-focused episode, we see pieces of a flashback of him creating a painting within a frame that is already hanging on the wall, symbolizing how his personal growth is always confined by the framework of his family's wealth and tradition. Towards the end of the episode, when it is revealed that [[spoiler:Kyouya pulled off a scheme to essentially take over his entire family's estate (over the heads of his father and several older brothers)]], we also see how that painting ended up: at some point, he went ''over'' the frame and started painting on the blank white wall behind it, creating a massive artwork of which the frame was only a small part.

* ''Literature/ThePathOfTheEldar'': In ''Path of the Warrior'', Korlandril is insulted when his friend Aradryan isn't impressed by his most recent sculpture, and cuttingly remarks that Aradryan's comments show he doesn't know what he's talking about. Aradryan replies that the work is self-indulgent and that it is more about Korlandril's skill and technique than anything, and begs him to leave the craftworld and take up the Path of the Outcast so he can grow beyond his current confines. Korlandril dwells on this, and the upheaval it causes in him eventually causes him to abandon the Path of the Artist and seek the Path of the Warrior, where he eventually becomes an Exarch of the Striking Scorpions.
* Franchise/StarWarsLegends: In ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'', Grand Admiral Thrawn has an amazing gift for [[AwesomenessByAnalysis gleaning information]] about other cultures and species from their artwork, especially psychological blind spots and other similar flaws, and will [[ExploitedTrope tailor his battle strategies and tactics to take advantage of those weaknesses]].

* ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer': Isuzu Hana is being groomed by her austere mother in flower arranging. Lady Isuzu is disappointed that Hana's efforts so far have been uninspired and plebeian, with Hana herself having to apologize for her less-than-excellent arrangements. Matters seem to worsen when Hana's mother learns Hana has joined the school's tankery team. However, the excitement of competing in tankery leads to Hana creating a prize-winning entry in a floral competition, which also wins the admiration of Hana's mother.

-->'''Jack:''' Stay away from me, [[DramaticIrony you psycho!]]\\
'''Pickman:''' Yes. Just like that. Hold that expression on your face...

* In [[https://archive.org/details/sinclair-user-magazine-069/page/n119 issue 69]] of ''Sinclair User'', a competition to win five copies of a ''Yogi Bear'' game was introduced with a joke article showing bears supposedly drawn by the staff writers and what these implied about the writers' personalities.

* In ''Videogame/TheSims4'', though it's more like "Art Reflects Mood", during one of the different dominant moods, your Sim can paint mood-exclusive paintings and influence themselves or others to the mood through the finished paintings.

* Rin of ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'' struggles with expressing herself, and tries to do so through her art. It's abstract and strange, though, and to her disappointment nobody really ever manages to understand her through it the way she wants.

* {{Discussed|Trope}} in the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "A Painting Worth a Thousand Bucks", after Peter accidentally discovers that Chris is an incredibly talented artist.

* Subverted in one episode of ''Series/{{House}}'', where the main characters are trying to work out what's wrong with a teenage patient and discover a very dark poem in their room. When they confront them with it and suggest they may be dealing with mental health issues, the teenager scoffs, revealing that they had just been told to make a poem in the style of Creator/SylviaPlath for English class.
* {{Invoked|Trope}} in ''{{Series/Spaced}}'', when tortured artist Brian says that he uses his art to depict [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brQw15Xz7Go "anger, pain, fear, and aggression"]]. Later on in the series, when he has a girlfriend and his life seems to be going quite well, he finds himself unable to produce any artistic work.

[[quoteright:350:[[Manga/NijigaharaHolograph https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_12_9.png]]]]

* Isuzu Hana from ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'' is being groomed by her austere mother in flower arranging. Lady Isuzu is disappointed that Hana's efforts so far have been uninspired and plebeian, with Hana herself having to apologize for her less-than-excellent arrangements. Matters seem to worsen when Hana's mother learns Hana has joined the school's tankery team. However, the excitement of competing in tankery leads to Hana creating a prize-winning entry in a floral competition, which also wins the admiration of Hana's mother.
* In ''Manga/NijigaharaHolograph'', at the start of ch. 4 Maki is chided by her college art teacher, who calls her work "nothing but technical skill" and boring, wishing to see her emotion and passion. She sulls up over this, but as the story goes on the teacher's comments prove to be on point as Maki is shown to be possessive, manipulative, and seemingly incapable of genuine love.
* In a Kyouya-focused episode of ''Anime/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'', we see pieces of a flashback of him creating a painting within a frame that is already hanging on the wall, symbolizing how his personal growth is always confined by the framework of his family's wealth and tradition. Towards the end of the episode, when it is revealed that [[spoiler:Kyouya pulled off a scheme to essentially take over his entire family's estate (over the heads of his father and several older brothers)]], we also see how that painting ended up: at some point, he went ''over'' the frame and started painting on the blank white wall behind it, creating a massive artwork of which the frame was only a small part.

* In ''Film/{{Brightburn}}'', as Brandon begins to deteriorate into an AxCrazy CreepyChild, he starts drawing sinister pictures of himself as a demonic being lording over a world of corpses.

* ''Film/SuddenImpact'' has Detective Callahan visit a waterfront town where a multiple homicide suspect has set up shop as an art studio. Callahan takes one look at the bleak, haunting, almost {{chiaroscuro}} images, and sees a woman with demons in her soul: she's taking grisly revenge on being raped as a teenager by some town ne'er-do-wells.

* In ''Literature/NoLongerHuman'', Yozo becomes enamored with [[SpookyPainting the eerie paintings of artist Amedeo Modigliani]], feeling that they communicate the underlying evil of humanity by portraying ordinary people with distorted proportions. As a result he takes up painting himself in order to express his true thoughts on people, and paints a self-portrait so hideous he refuses to show it to anyone except Takeichi, whose approval of Modigliani's work was what inspired him. Takeichi tells him he will be a great artist someday.
* In ''[[Literature/ThePathOfTheEldar Path of the Warrior]]'', Korlandril is insulted when his friend Aradryan isn't impressed by his most recent sculpture, and cuttingly remarks that Aradryan's comments show he doesn't know what he's talking about. Aradryan replies that the work is self-indulgent and that it is more about Korlandril's skill and technique than anything, and begs him to leave the craftworld and take up the Path of the Outcast so he can grow beyond his current confines. Korlandril dwells on this, and the upheaval it causes in him eventually causes him to abandon the Path of the Artist and seek the Path of the Warrior, where he eventually becomes an Exarch of the Striking Scorpions.
* In the ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' series ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'', Grand Admiral Thrawn has an amazing gift for [[AwesomenessByAnalysis gleaning information]] about other cultures and species from their artwork, especially psychological blind spots and other similar flaws, and will [[ExploitedTrope tailor his battle strategies and tactics to take advantage of those weaknesses]].

* In ''Series/GoodLuckCharlie'', Amy has been taking art classes in her private time and asks her family to critique a painting she had made. They aren't sure what the painting is depicting and make ''way'' off guesses about what it is (mostly pertaining to what they like), much to her frustration. It's a ''banana''. Amy is frustrated because this means her family's oblivious and inconsiderate of how much work she puts into taking care of them.

[[folder:Video Games & Visual Novels]]
* This is ''definitely'' the case with [[MadArtist the titular owner]] of the [[RoomFullOfCrazy Pickman Gallery]] in ''VideoGame/Fallout4''. Let's just say that he has...[[{{Gorn}} creative]] ways of killing raiders.

* In ''Film/{{Brightburn}}'', as Brandon begins to deteriorate into an AxCrazy CreepyChild, he starts drawing sinister pictures of himself as a demonic being and other disturbing images.

->''Poetry is the shadow cast by our streetlight imaginations.''
-->--'''Lawrence Ferlinghetti'''

-->'''Jack:''' Stay away from me, [[DramaticIrony you psycho!]]
-->'''Pickman:''' Yes. Just like that. Hold that expression on your face...
* In ''Videogame/TheSims4'', though it more like "Art Reflects Mood", during one of the different dominant mood, your Sim can paint mood exclusive paintings and influence themselves or others to the mood through the finished paintings.
* Rin of ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'' struggles with expressing herself, and tries to do so through her art. It's abstract and strange, though, and to her disappointment nobody really ever manages to understand her through it the way she wants.

[[folder:Visual Novels]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': In one early episode, Ezra asks Sabine to paint something in his and Zeb's quarters, so she paints a cartoon-ish picture of them doing something goofy earlier that episode. When Ezra and Zeb express disapproval at being depicted as fools, she simply states that [[StealthInsult she draws what she sees]]. This is one of a number of moments through the first half of Season 1 that shows that Sabine doesn't like Ezra until they both have CharacterDevelopment.

* In one ''ComicBook/AmalgamUniverse'' story, a reporter is poking around the mansion of the troubled billionaire artist [[Franchise/{{Wolverine}} Logan]] [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Wayne]], and notes a gallery of his work, abstract pieces of bold colors and sharp shapes that evoke an almost animalistic savagery. Small surprise then that he turns out to be the clawed, cowled crusader of New Gotham City, the Dark Claw.

* ''Manga/GAGeijutskaArtDesignClass'' shows how the girls' different personalities affect the way they draw. When tasked to draw a tissue box, Kisaragi--a gentle ShrinkingViolet--puts too much emphasis on the soft lines that her box looks like sponge, while Tomokane--a HotBlooded {{Tomboy}}--does the opposite, and draws her tissue like an iron plate.

* In the ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' series the ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'', Grand Admiral Thrawn has an amazing gift for [[AwesomenessByAnalysis gleaning information]] about other cultures and species from their artwork, especially psychological blind spots and other similar flaws, and will [[ExploitedTrope tailor his battle strategies and tactics to take advantage of those weaknesses]].

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

* Isuzu Hana from ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'' is being groomed by her austere mother in flower arranging. Lady Isuzu is disappointed that Hana's efforts so far have been uninspired and plebeian, with Hana herself having to apologize for her less-than-excellent arrangements. Matters seem to worsen when Hana's mother learns Hana has joined the school's tankery team. However, the excitement of competing in tankery leads to Hana creating a prize-winning entry in a floral competition, which also wins the admiration of Hana's mother.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

* In ''Film/{{Brightburn}}'', as Brandon begins to deteriorate into an AxCrazy CreepyChild, he starts drawing sinister pictures of himself as a demonic being and other disturbing images.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

* In ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'', Thrawn has an amazing gift for gleaning information about other cultures and species from their artwork, especially psychological blind spots and other similar flaws, and will [[ExploitedTrope tailor his battle strategies and tactics to take advantage of those weaknesses]].
* ''Literature/TheNakedSun'': The humans of Solaria live alone on isolated estates and abhor all physical contact; art exists, but only as abstract three-dimensional "light sculptures". An Earthling sees this as a sign of their FatalFlaw: in a PostScarcityEconomy deprived of human contact, their intellectual and artistic pursuits are all superficial, since they have little reason to do anything at all.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

* In ''Series/GoodLuckCharlie'', Amy has been taking art classes in her private time and asks her family to critique a painting she had made. They aren't sure what the painting is depicting and make ''way'' off guesses about what it is (mostly pertaining to what they like), much to her frustration. It's a ''banana''. Amy is frustrated because this means her family's oblivious and inconsiderate of how much work she puts into taking care of them.

[[AC:Print Media]]

[[AC:TabletopGames]]

[[AC:VisualNovels]]

[[AC:{{Webcomics}}]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* {{Discussed|Trope}} in the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "A Painting Worth a Thousand Bucks", after Peter accidentally discovers that Chris is an incredibly talented artist.
-->'''Chris''': It's partially an expression of my teenage angst...but mostly, it's a moo cow!

** In one episode, when a curator visits his art class to see what pieces have been made, he dismisses all of them because they're all focused on Squidward ("I call this one, 'Bold and Brash'." "More like 'Belongs in the trash!'"), except for a Greek statue that [=SpongeBob=] made. Meanwhile, [=SpongeBob=] had been creating perfect pieces of art with little to no effort and he only joined for fun, whereas Squidward wanted people to look up to him as well as hoping to get rich and famous off of it. When [=SpongeBob=] starts taking Squidward's [[AntiRoleModel advice]], he fails to recreate his success and makes terrible pieces of art. At the end, Squidward throws a tantrum and [[AchievementsInIgnorance accidentally makes a beautiful statue without realizing it]]. TheAesop of the story is do your hobbies out of fun and passion, not because you want to get rich and famous.

* In a Kyouya-focused episode of ''Anime/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'', we see pieces of a flashback of him creating a painting within a frame that is already handing on the wall, symbolizing how his personal growth is always confined by the framework of his family's wealth and tradition. Towards the end of the episode, when it is revealed that [[spoiler:Kyouya pulled off a scheme to essentially take over his entire family's estate (over the heads of his father and several older brothers)]], we also see how that painting ended up: at some point, he went ''over'' the frame and started painting on the blank white wall behind it, creating a massive artwork of which the frame was only a small part.

[[AC:ProfessionalWrestling]]
* Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} has BLANK, a MadArtist originally known as "The Generator" Race Jaxon[[note]]As part of the TagTeam N_R_G with Hype Rockwell. They were a SaltAndPepper team (Race was Salt, Hype was Pepper) modeled on the 1992-1993 Wrestling/{{WWE}} team High Energy (Wrestling/OwenHart and Wrestling/KokoBWare).[[/note]] and, after the team split up due to Jaxon [[FaceHeelTurn turning heel]] on Rockwell, he started a PrettyBoy[=/=]TheFightingNarcissist gimmick as "Young And Handsome" Race Jaxon. Rockwell defeated him in a "Loser Wears A Mask" match at the 2017 SeasonFinale ''Closing Time''. He returned at the 2018 Season Premiere ''Beware The Snowman'' on January 28th as BLANK. At ''National Pro Wrestling Day 2018'' on February 17th with his first "creation," Ursa Minor in the Night Sky. At ''Hour of Power 13'' on February 24th, BLANK unveiled his second "creation," Still Life With Apricots and Pears, along with officially naming their trio The Nouveau Aesthetic. While commentator Wrestling/MikeQuackenbush would speak well of art during their matches, he'd also say that it is very subjective. The gimmick could best be described as an InUniverse example of TrueArtIsIncomprehensible. Still Life defeated The Proletariat Boar of Moldova due to Ursa Minor's interference at ''Hour of Power 14'' on March 24th. After the match, BLANK unzipped his mask and he said something that ended with "Art is dead. Long live the Nouveau Aesthetic," and the crowd chanted "That's not art! That's not art!" BLANK would dismiss Ursa Minor after "Juke Joint" Lucas Calhoun, Jeremy Leary and Blanche Babish defeated The Nouveau Aesthetic in a six-person mixed-tag match at ''It Came From Beneath The Sink!'' on September 22nd. However, Still Life have done very well for themselves (Still Life identifies as non-binary, preferring they/them pronouns.), defeating Boomer Hatfield in the finals of ''Young Lions Cup XV 2nd Stage'' on March 16, 2019 to become the first non-binary [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/pa/e/chikara/chikara-yl.html Champion]] in wrestling.
* Episode 2 of Wrestling/BrayWyatt's [[SubvertedKidsShow "Firefly Fun House"]] skits involves him painting a canvas where a house is burning with a girl (Sister Abigail) inside of it; the whole thing referencing Wrestling/RandyOrton burning the Wyatt Family's compound on the road to ''Wrestling/WrestleMania 33''. He then hangs the painting on the wall.

Compare AuthorAppeal, AuthorPhobia and RealitySubtext for specific ways in which the creator channels themselves through their work, and TrueArtIsAngsty amd TrueArtIsIncomprehensible for general thoughts on the content of art.