Acoustic strumming

[Rhombus]

I've recently found that I have an excessive amount of time on my hands and decided I might as well attempt to teach myself guitar. I found an old acoustic guitar in my house and have been attempting to learn on that.

The problem seems to be my lack of ability to make my strumming not sound awful, I've just been messing around with basic chords but they all sound terrible (I've been playing for about 2 weeks). I realize this may change with time but I'd rather learn properly now if there is a faster/better way. I also realize this is most likely subjective, but I just want some opinions.

So my questions are basically:
Should I use a pick or my thumb/fingers/nails etc.?
How hard/soft should I strum?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated since I feel like I'm doing something wrong.

Thanks.

 

[Lateralus14]

Don't wanna give a dick answer but yea both of those questions are completely dependent on what you want to play. No matter what you do though, if you want it to sound good then it's of utmost importance that you have a good sense of rhythm.