Artist Discouragement

[Kat_Warrior]

Hey gang. I generally don't leave the comfort of the sketchbook forum, but I felt the need to ask some older, wiser artists about this.

It happens to me occassionally that I'm looking at the works of other artists and come to a problem. I ADORE their work. It practically leaves me breathless and stunned. Unfortuneately, I also have some negative reactions. Envy and discouragement, if you will. I look at their work and my own and realize that I'm probably years away from being able to accomplish what they do, if it's possible for me at all.

Naturally it makes things even harder if said artist is younger than me. That's like a big kick in the teeth. Not that there's anything wrong with talented youngsters - that's great! But I often feel that as someone who's had at least a little more experience (drawing since I was a very wee lass, mind you), I should be closer to their level of ability.

It's not that I don't try improving. I really, truly do. Very hard, sometimes. But even after accomplishing some improvement, I'm fully aware that I'm still holding a candle next to a lighthouse.

Maybe it's just me, maybe it's one of those tempermental artist things. If the latter is the case, does anyone have some words of wisdom? Or a possible reality check?

Peace~

Kat

[Ellingsworth]

Or a possible reality check?

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=870

[MephistoLV]

What you are feeling is perfectly normal, I think. We all have artists whose work we admire and envy, which is a good thing. That little bit of jealousy is one of the things that pushes us to work hard and get better. It can be a double-edged sword though, as it can also lead to artistic despair and depression, thinking that we will never be as good as the ones we admire. When that happens, you really have to reach down and work even harder to get over the bad feelings and find respect in your own work for what you are doing right.

I think you will find as you get older that the artists and works you admire will change. Things you once thought were hot stuff may seem trite, boring, cliched, or even mediocre after 5 or 10 years of additional life and art experience. As you grow, new heros will emerge to take the place of the old ones.

Beware if you ever reach a day where you think you are the pinnacle of the art world and can find no more masters whose skill you feel is beyond you. At that point, your mind has closed, your growth has stopped, and your demise is imminent.

OK, sorry for the prophet of doom stuff, but I hope you get my point! lol.

[Inkjexion]

what your feeling is normal, I get the EXACT same pattern of feelings. You will artists that will be doing so much better than you but you will also find some where you are doing so much better than them.

You can almost compare it like you're working out in a gym. You'll see a guy to your right who is bigger than you are but you look to your left and youll see someone whos smaller.

I think you should be focusing on the best that you can do.

goodluck buddy!

[Kat_Warrior]

Ellingsworth: A reality check gratefully deposited. Thanks! :)

Mephisto: Thank you! That was really quite relieving to hear. I'm sitting here doing some studies now, hoping it'll get me a little farther.

Inkjexion: Thanks! That's a pretty good comparison. :)

[Nam]

Don't get envious, I get excited when I see an artist who's way better than me. I used to get a little bit depressed or lose motivation when I started, but I realized every artist who is better than you can teach you something. Be glad you came across them because their style and approach can open up a whole new persepective for you and give you something to add to your own.

[Idiot Apathy]

Never compare yourself to another, only compare yourself to your past self. -Idiot of Apathy :P

You have no idea what experiences someone else has gone through, whether they draw 16 minutes a day or 16 hours a day and whether they've been doing that for 2 years or 2 decades.

Compare yourself only to yourself, if you are improving then you shouldn't complain - keep it up. Success is built up slowly, chunk by chunk. If you are not improving, don't fret - analyze and approach things differently.

[Elwell]

Get used to it and learn to live with it, because it will never go away. There will always be people who are better at certain things than you are, or who can do things that are totally beyond your ken. There isn't a dick-swinging, king-of-the-world art superstar :swepimp: who doesn't feel like this sometimes about somebody. But once you become more confident in what you can do, what you can't becomes less of an issue.

[HunterKiller_]

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=870

Bloody hell! Did that guy improve or what!
From scratch to master pieces in just four years.

We all know how you feel. You just have to try 'rewire' your brain so that these 'discouragements' turn into inspiration.
When I first found CA.org, there was a period, not long after my arrival, when I just stopped visiting this place, because seeing the godly work was too depressing for me.
I then decided sometime later to give it another go, and slowly, but surely, I started to see great inspiration in the art.

I'm so glad now, that I made that decision to come back, because I would so lost without CA.org. :yayca:

[Ellingsworth]

There isn't a dick-swinging, king-of-the-world art superstar

Actually, I would have to disagree. Chasethehedgehog has claimed that title.

Bloody hell! Did that guy improve or what!
From scratch to master pieces in just four years.

Hell yeah, man. His thread got me drawing everyday. I always look back at that thread when I'm feeling down about how much my stuff sucks. :)

[Sentinel.]

I let it get to me to the point that I virtually stopped drawing for over two years.

BIGGEST. MISTAKE. EVER.

In those two years I could have improved SO MUCH. Instead I stagnated. Since my attitude has changed, my art has improved by leaps and bounds. I can't get those two years back, but I can damn sure guarantee it'll never happen again. Like Idiot Apathy said, the only comparison you should be concerned about is your new stuff to your old stuff. That alone should be a huge boost, if you've improved at all. When I see art that's so out of my league it's crazy, I spend a while analyzing why that is and try to learn something from it.

And try to avoid taking a dump on every piece that you finish. It’s okay to be critical about what you want to improve on, but not to the point that you tear yourself to shreds over it.

[Justin.]

I was going to post a topic about this, but from my view.


I don't get this feeling- I don't know why. I have gotten it once I think. I can't even remember when it was, but I have always wondered how people feel depressed or discouraged. Personally I have felt regret (I should be drawing right now), envy (wish I could do that), and awe (I can't believe a human made that), but I almost never-ever-EVER feel depressed or discouraged about seeing another's awesome work.

About Comparing yourself to others;
I hear what idiot apathy says, but I have to disagree. It depends on your personality.
I am competitive. I love to win. I like the idea of being at the top of my game. Having a competitive nature, when I see someone else's work, I think "how close am I to being that good? I wonder how fast I can become that good." Then I research how that person got that good (usually going earlier in their sketchbook), and it motivates me to draw what they drew. This also has the added benefit of letting my draw a large variety of subject matter, so I get a soup of influence.

Many have a different attitude, where comparing themselves to others either gives them an ego or shoots their ego in the face. In that scenario, I think it is best to compare yourself to yourself and how much you have improved, like IA said.

In my opinion, the problem with comparing to only yourself is that you have no direction. You are going forward, but not up. You are walking, but not flying. For me, I need to see what other people are doing to say "I need to get better than that."

[pencilkiller]

I think competition is always good. You shouldn't feel negative when compare to others. Everybody learn in their own pace. Some takes less time, as we say "the talented people"; while normal folks may takes more time that usual, but what you had learn is alway belongs to you, and that is the most important things.

Take one step at a time, and it won't go wrong.;)

[Haymaker]

I'm 18, but I feel compared to other artists of my age that I'm really lazy and havent improved at all. The thing that gave me a huge boost was a old, crappy drawing of me from two years ago. Everything that could be wrong was wrong, from anatomy to shading. So, as said before by some artists here, never compare to others, but compare to your old self.

I think art isnt about detail or being perfect (no one can). Its all about that one thing, the thing only you can achieve. I remember some ugly, bad-colored webcomics that didnt do anything original on first sight. Still, it became a famous thing just because it had something other artist couldnt create. The road to find
that one thing is teh awesomeness:D

[tomwaits4noman]

I wish I was a millionaire had a ripped six pack and movie star looks also that I could draw like Da Vinci but that ain't going to happen..........

you have to be realistic develop a style that works to your strengths.

Who are your heroes? beat each one has a different style one thing they have in common is their knowledge of the craft, and that comes with time practice and patient.

Found this quote somewhere- probably right here on C.A

Don't try to be the best artitst in the world instead try to be the best artist you can be.

[dierat]

This question comes up a *lot*. Can we just sticky this or something? :P

I think the "don't compare yourself to other artists" statement doesn't make sense. Our work would have no direction if we didn't look at and learn from other artists. Looking at other artists that are making more successful work than you is a great way to pick up tips. Figure out what is making that work so good (composition, lighting, color, movement, etc) and think about how your work is lacking in that area. But there's a limit, of course. If you're just learning to draw blocks and you try to learn from the artists on the front page of CA, you're just going to come away thinking what your work needs is a new artist. If looking at that work makes you feel crappy, then maybe you're just not ready for that stuff yet. And when you find something that is good but makes you think "Omg that's awesome, and I can totally do something as good as that, with a little practice" then make that your desktop wallpaper!

So, in the meantime, you just have to stay positive and remind yourself of the things that you're good at. If you're good at painting, then go paint yourself an orange every time you think you suck. I think impatient Tom here has some nice points along those lines, with

you have to be realistic develop a style that works to your strengths.

Just don't tear yourself down over not being amazing. That's a waste of energy.

[Shantih]

I always take moments like that as a personal insult and redouble my efforts. That's probably why I always did well in school, every time someone got a higher grade it would become my mission in life to beat them. I had issues :xpld:

Of course there are artists I can't hope to beat, luckily I can take that less personally and just learn from them.

[tomwaits4noman]

I think impatient Tom here has some nice points along those lines

Is it that bloody obvious???? LOL

[kingshaj]

something that helps me put this issue in perspective is the following:

remember that if you ever truly got to be the best, art would be meaningless
to you...you’d lose your drive to improve and lose interest.

one should be inspired by their peers but should compete with oneself.


art is the only thing is in this world that guaranties that it will give you back exactly what you put in .

[Riiroi]

I always take moments like that as a personal insult and redouble my efforts. That's probably why I always did well in school, every time someone got a higher grade it would become my mission in life to beat them. I had issues :xpld:

Of course there are artists I can't hope to beat, luckily I can take that less personally and just learn from them.

lol! im exactly like you!....>:D

[Sentinel.]

I agree that competition helps a lot - it's usually how I make the biggest improvements in my art. I just think that when people start to feel down about their own stuff and think they'll never be that good, they should look back and see how far they've come.

Now that my attitude has changed, I thrive on how much better other artists are. It inspires me to do that well and gives me something to guide me. I was just saying that in order to keep perspective on yourself you should look to your own improvement.

In other words, yeah I agree with you guys :) I just didn't want to sound like you should never look to another artists work, because no one would really improve that way.

[Kat_Warrior]

Man, I came to the right place for advice! :D

Thanks for the tips, everyone. They all help, really. Just because I don't thank you all individually (Haha, got a lot more replies than expected), doesn't mean I'm not grateful. I really am! :)

[Idiot Apathy]

In MY opinion, the problem with comparing to only yourself is that you have no direction. You are going forward, but not up. You are walking, but not flying. For me, I need to see what other people are doing to say "I need to get better than that."

I don't care if it makes me a jerk, because it works fine.

See, being a jerk isn't a good thing - I know, go figure!
It will not only make others unhappy with you but I believe you yourself will be unhappy, maybe not immediately - but the closer you get to your "prize" I think you will find that you need a lot more than "talent" or "skill" to be happy. The man who sacrifices happiness for either of those is a fool in my mind.

I do not think that either philosophy has a sizeable difference of impact upon progress. However I do believe that having an "ego" is the best way to insure that your progress stagnates and it's a great way to make sure you are unteachable.

[otis]

Believe it or not, but artists will always admire eachothers work. An artist you admire probably has somthing they admire about your work.

There is no such thing as a "Great Artist".

[Justin.]

Want to clear something up.

I sounded like a prick saying "MY", when I only emphasized it to separate the 2 different philosophies toward it,

not to say "MY" as in "THE CORRECT AND SCREW ALL YOU GUYS" type of way.

sorry 'bout that. Internet screw up communication sooo bad.

[Texahol]

the ones who can't be discouraged are the ones worth encouraging.

I have to agree with Idiot Apathy here. I think it's important to learn from others, but you should be focused on what you are doing, and what you are not doing- then reevaluate what you are doing to figure out how to acheive the next step towards improvement. A lot of stuff isn't 'better' but more individualized. I believe that way of thinking has greatly aided my personal progress.

[pickthall]

Hey man, my sympathies I had the same kinda questions

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=103795

Like everyone else said, just compete with yourself

[Favila]

once you become more confident in what you can do, what you can't becomes less of an issue.

I hope thats true, I have nearly to no confidence in what I can draw right now, and I envy so much the works of others... And what drives me mad is that I'm not pushing myself as hard as I should, since I'm a BIG procastinator :P I need to find a solution for that,



"but I'll do that later..."