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So let me be real here. I haven't been happy with anything I've done art-wise for more than a few seconds since, what, second grade? It's been a while.
Doesn't matter if it's traditional drawings, digital paintings, photo manipulations, whatever. Anything I do, I hate. Its always sort of been this way, but its really raging on strong as of late. I can't do any sort of artistic thing for more than a few minutes at a time before getting angry and upset. Ya know, rage quitting and letting distractions take me away to something that's actually fun while I resist the urge to curl up and die of sadness :'). (I'm temperamental with a horrible attention span anyway, but still. It's worse than usual with art right now.) I'm absolutely sick of always hating what I do. Art has always been a thing that I've wanted to get good at and do forever. It's always been the idea that I had to fall back on if I couldnt find anything else to do with my life. I'd be incredibly happy if I could get good enough to make art a career. But it's really fucking hard to improve when looking at everything you've made screams failure and you can't manage to sit through making a whole piece anymore. Lord knows I need to do a lot of improving before my works are even somewhat presentable, but I just don't know if I can deal with all of the shit anymore.
So, all this in mind, I really just wanted to ask you artists what you do to feel good about what you make. Or at least some tips to keep me motivated long enough to practice more. And what do you do when you've tried so hard to improve over a long period of time but nothing works? How do you accept praise for your art when it all seems like lies? Any help would be great. |
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Trivia Team
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The thing about art is that it's very rarely, if ever, going to come out the way you imagine it will. You have a certain image in your head, a specific idea of what your work will look like, so when you finish a piece, you're going to compare it to what you thought it would look like, and it won't match up. Other people don't have your imagined piece to compare it to. They just look at the art you made and go "wow, that's art, and it's good!" So I think a big part is just starting a piece with an idea, but letting that idea become flexible and become willing to accept the new thing that has come from your idea, and to like it just as much as the other idea, if not more. |
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I think its very common for artists to dislike their artwork. I know i speak for myself, and quite a few others, when I say i actually dislike a majority of it and can pick out all the faults. But identifying ones faults is what makes you grow as an artist. I think the periods of dislike is what drives the force to do better. In the rare chance that i actually love a piece of my own works, i keep it. I dont really need any motivation to keep doing art. I do art because i enjoy the process and enjoy that I get to (usually) make someone else happy with the end result. I dont set out to be the best, or make money, or have some sort of weird social recognition, or for a bunch of other people to tell me its pretty or give me validation. I enjoy sailing in my own ship, in my own waters, at my own slow ass snails pace doing whatever i damn well please. I'll reach whatever destination there is when i get there. I'm in no rush and quite frankly dont care what other people think of my work (good or bad). I'd push you to find your motivation for doing art. Is it because you enjoy doing it? Or are you seeking something? I find those who are trying to rush in the pursuit of validation dont grow and burn out. |
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I am on the same boat as you. Not liking anything of what I do, I end up doing something else to release myself from my inner negativity. No one sees faults better than I do. Consequence: I stopped selling any art. What I started doing yesterday, literally yesterday, is look for tutorials and such, ways to improve that perhaps would help me develop. Thing is, practice and practice is the way. If it takes me more or less, then so be it. I have been doing art for lots of years and few progress so I guess is too late for being fast xD anyways, I am doing art for the hardest person I could get: myself. |
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Thanks for helpin out, guys. Really appreciate it. I have tried to be more flexible with my ideas, especially seeing as all of the stuff that I actually get excited about trying is way out of my skill level. But I do scrap a lot of the stuff that I do (most never ends up seeing anyone's eyes but mine) so I guess it's still something I should be working on. Nothing ever comes out how I was thinking so it probably would help to be more okay with straying from my original vision. Thanks Puck. You actually just showered me in thoughts, Jello. You make some great points. I went and tried to come up with my answer for what my motivation currently is, and to be totally honest, I hate my answer. I never really thought about it before. But I guess I started drawing when I was little because I felt like I wasn't good at anything. Or useful. And I didn't think I had any good or likeable qualities or skills. Those feelings have only continued to grow stronger, especially as of late, and way worse things have added on to it. Seems like the older I get the more I feel like a worthless dead-end, and the more I feel like that the more new art styles and mediums I try and use to make up for it. So yeah, to wrap up the ugly sob story (sorry to drop that stupid shit down), art is my attempt at actually doing something for once and being somebody, but the more I fail the more I flail. Fun. So realistically I should find something else to push me to be an artist instead of feelings of inadequacy. Major thanks for the wake up call. I'm just not sure how to change what's pushing me? Where to start in finding something new? I'm lost, honestly. lol. I hate anything anywhere near involving emotions so lord fucking knows I'm cringing at this shit And yes Shiv. Hell yes. I've been doing all kinds of art for sooo long, since I was itty bitty, and I still haven't gotten anywhere. It fucking sucks. It's honestly BULLSHIT that all we can do is keep practicing lol. (I'm half kidding there, cause I understand, but also.. ugh). Tutorials would be good, actually. I'm just a perfectionist covered in anxiety which ends up making me lazy because I don't want to fuck up but I also don't want to be helped and taught because I need to do it myself and be the KING of self-taught success but realistically I'm a mess that should reeeally take any help I can get. Lol, senseless mouthful. So I just need to get off my high horse and pay attention to some tutorials and tips and such. Thanks for the suggestion. If anyone has anything else to say, I'd still really appreciate some help. It's kind of hard for me to admit that I'm down 'bout this shit and in need of guidance, but I NEED a change. Or something. Once again, thanks y'all. You da best. |
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I also get really frustrated and I would love that a single piece would come out as I wanted it to be, but it doesn't. I am doing a piece right now and I have deleted the mane and tail like... 5/6 times? Yesterday I got pissed by listening to music I didn't want to and I had to shut down the computer. I couldn't continue anymore. With tutorials, the thing is not just copying the tutorial itself, but perhaps looking for things that could give you an idea of improvement. I mean, it's practically impossible to get the perfect result that looks so effortless as the tutorial makes it to be. It's truly painful. But, what else is there to do? I would love to make so many pieces per day like many people do and I am unable to make one in like... 2 weeks. And is getting worse and worse, just like you say. |
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I'm going to tell you flat out, if you don't like what you're creating then start over. You don't like the hair? Scrap it and find a new way to do it. Same with body prep, lighting, anything you need. If something doesn't work, and you've tried multiple times with the same results, then you have to accept that what you're doing isn't working. Notice I am not saying this about art entirely. I 100000000% want you to keep doing art because I remember when you first started digital art and you have come so far in a relatively short amount of time. I dare you to try something completely new <3 |
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