Story I hate my art and myself. If i can't get better then there is no point in life

[LonelyPrince]

I've tied my entire identity to this. Yet, I'm not good enough. I keep meeting people who are way more skilled than I am and I just resent myself so much for being depressed and stopping for a while. Maybe i could have been better, I could have shared my art online and be proud of it.
But no.
For years I was too afraid to even pick up a pencil and now I'm left with the consequences of it.
I'll never be good enough. What's the point???!
I met this 15 year old prodigy that drew so well and after that encounter I was left feeling like a failure.
I know everybody has their own path but why does mine have to be so long and tedious??? Why can't mine be like theirs? I hate myself so much and i genuinely hate the garbage and produce.

I won't show these anywhere else, what's the point? They are even incomplete. I'm just going to share them here so as little people see them.
I dont even know why im doing this.
I dont know what to do anymore.

 

[wereqryan]

This is quite good. You can get even better if you focus on anatomy. Look into manga materials instagram and patreon.

 

[meowpuppy]

your art's pretty good, i'm sorry you hate it..

 

[ilovecats1]

i know it wont mean much but i love these

 

[tonicer]

I genuinely like your style.

 

[Hvergelmir]

I've worked with very skilled professional artists, and they've all seen even more skilled artists as a source of inspiration and awe - something to study and learn from.
What are you trying to accomplish? Good enough for what?

 

[smirks00ts]

I like your art a lot!

I haven't drawn a lot since recently. I miss having the drive to, but youre way better than me haha

 

[LonelyPrince]

I've worked with very skilled professional artists, and they've all seen even more skilled artists as a source of inspiration and awe - something to study and learn from.
What are you trying to accomplish? Good enough for what?

Good enough for myself. For my high standards. I know we should lower our expectations but I can't help it.

 

[Grasp of darkness]

When you think you're good at something, there's always a chinese kid who's even better at it

 

[Hvergelmir]

For my high standards. I know we should lower our expectations but I can't help it.

There's nothing wrong with working towards becoming the very best, but you must enjoy the process, and be happy about achievements along the way.
I think you should carefully consider; what do you really want to accomplish? Why isn't your art 'good enough'?

Plenty of art is is accomplishing its goal without being technically "better".

 

[Bootleg Astolfo]

Draw Holo from Spice And Wolf (2024), it's the only solution, just trust me bro

 

[DownwardSpiral]

I feel like a failure at my hobbies too. But I do think your art is very good & cute. Definitely better than anything I can make. What cookie is that? I don't recognize them.

 

[makebelieve]

Same im forever ngmi

 

[heywey]

"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it's just not that good. It's trying to be good, it has potential, but it's not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn't have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I've ever met. It's gonna take awhile. It's normal to take awhile. You've just gotta fight your way through."

(warning: somewhat rambly thoughts of uncertain coherence ahead. brain's mushy tonight)

I like that quote a lot and find it very motivational, and it seemed relevant so I wanted to share. But, I also think, as others here have said, there's always going to be someone better than you. It's fine to aim for high quality as a goal, but IMO the artistic endeavors worth pursuing are the ones where the process is what brings the most joy. If you like doing something enough to do it often, skill will come naturally; and with skill comes (some) pride in the end results.

We can always be better than we are, so we'll never be fully satisfied with the things we create, but facing that frustration and disappointment with yourself over and over again is part of the process. Well, it IS the process. Feeling like a failure doesn't mean you're a failure, it's a mark of progress; so if art is important to you, keep making things and feeling like a failure, find joy in the little things along the way. And I think you'll find that even the most skilled artists still feel that self doubt. It doesn't magically go away once you've improved, but little by little, you get better at ignoring it the more you realize it just isn't helpful.

 

[LonelyPrince]

I feel like a failure at my hobbies too. But I do think your art is very good & cute. Definitely better than anything I can make. What cookie is that? I don't recognize them.

It's shadow milk cookie from crk! I have been drawing mostly him lol

"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it's just not that good. It's trying to be good, it has potential, but it's not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn't have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I've ever met. It's gonna take awhile. It's normal to take awhile. You've just gotta fight your way through."

(warning: somewhat rambly thoughts of uncertain coherence ahead. brain's mushy tonight)

I like that quote a lot and find it very motivational, and it seemed relevant so I wanted to share. But, I also think, as others here have said, there's always going to be someone better than you. It's fine to aim for high quality as a goal, but IMO the artistic endeavors worth pursuing are the ones where the process is what brings the most joy. If you like doing something enough to do it often, skill will come naturally; and with skill comes (some) pride in the end results.

We can always be better than we are, so we'll never be fully satisfied with the things we create, but facing that frustration and disappointment with yourself over and over again is part of the process. Well, it IS the process. Feeling like a failure doesn't mean you're a failure, it's a mark of progress; so if art is important to you, keep making things and feeling like a failure, find joy in the little things along the way. And I think you'll find that even the most skilled artists still feel that self doubt. It doesn't magically go away once you've improved, but little by little, you get better at ignoring it the more you realize it just isn't helpful.

Thank you. I like this quote too. I want to fall in love with art again, I really do.

 

[Cloud Busting]

"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it's just not that good. It's trying to be good, it has potential, but it's not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn't have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I've ever met. It's gonna take awhile. It's normal to take awhile. You've just gotta fight your way through."

(warning: somewhat rambly thoughts of uncertain coherence ahead. brain's mushy tonight)

I like that quote a lot and find it very motivational, and it seemed relevant so I wanted to share. But, I also think, as others here have said, there's always going to be someone better than you. It's fine to aim for high quality as a goal, but IMO the artistic endeavors worth pursuing are the ones where the process is what brings the most joy. If you like doing something enough to do it often, skill will come naturally; and with skill comes (some) pride in the end results.

We can always be better than we are, so we'll never be fully satisfied with the things we create, but facing that frustration and disappointment with yourself over and over again is part of the process. Well, it IS the process. Feeling like a failure doesn't mean you're a failure, it's a mark of progress; so if art is important to you, keep making things and feeling like a failure, find joy in the little things along the way. And I think you'll find that even the most skilled artists still feel that self doubt. It doesn't magically go away once you've improved, but little by little, you get better at ignoring it the more you realize it just isn't helpful.

This is beautiful. I just discovered this song and I think it would resonate with a lot of people here:



Honestly, even with recovery I look at it this way. Everything I do, if I'm uninspired or confused or feeling defeated… I just ask the universe. Lol Life itself is a risk and a gamble with no guarantees. That's what makes it so rewarding when you do succeed, and discover all the paths and places you can go that you'd of never imagined.

 

[MaeW]

I also like your style

 

[Le temps perdu]

Your art is really pretty , and I love your style as well, I hope that one day you'll be able to enjoy the process of creating art <3