I sorry waht cymbal ism

Yeah I don't catch them either LOL

I think it really depends on what I am making. If its pretty normal looking, then its probably not anything but some things do have symbolism? I drew a picture of a rainbow inside of a mouth with it being wavy and weird looking and made it have piano teeth. That was to symbolize singing.

I think it depends on if there was thought beforehand about it?

I think the problem with symbolism is that unless it's something very simple, everyone will see something different. Don't get me wrong, I think this is great but sometimes it is so deep and complicated that it makes sense only to the author. And as you said, sometimes the message is "I just like purple ._." and the critic/teacher will ascribe some deep meaning to it.

I have small issues with symbolism, much like you im just straight forward.

My course is Literature, so one might say that I am trained to look at things deeply :v And well, just because someone interprets it this certain way doesn't mean that it's wrong. We even have this theory that "the author is dead" -- meaning that even the author's own interpretations of his work aren't like, the absolute truth or anything (sorry I wasn't sure what else to call it). So it's totally okay to see things as they are, or to see them differently c:

But I do also believe that seeing things more deeply can really enrich someone's experience in something. Like seeing the many different layers this one specific thing can be or something. It's really cool when applicable :D

i live for finding symbolism in things... i really enjoy digging to find hidden layers of meaning and also putting it into my work and such, but a lot of the time it's still unintentional. i'm kind of half and half when it comes to being complicated and simple, because sometimes i'm the same way... i just like something because i like it. hAHA

I don't usually think about symbolism when it comes to my art. I just make what i think looks good, but I think with time I will naturally start to add more symbolism and meaning to my work when it gets better(in terms of technique) and I won't feel like I need to focus so much on practising to make good art. Then I can put more focus into the concept behind the art when i'm more comfortable, if that makes sense..