Let’s face it. There are so many obstacles to becoming a better artist: and most of them are you. You always hear yourself say, “You’re not good enough”, “why do you even bother?”, “There are so many artists better than you’ll ever be.”
Seriously, no one is a harsher critic then you.
Here are some quotes you say to yourself next time that stupid little voice comes up again.
Great artists never stop learning – Jorge Jimenez
Well, this is a comic site, and what better way to start than with a comic artist! Jorge Jimenez is a prolific comic artist from DC.
The reason why this quote is so inspirational is because it really hammers home the idea that no matter how great of an artist you are, you will always have more to learn.
To never stop being hungry. To never stop working to improve your craft.
Every Artist was First an Amateur – Ralph Waldo Emerson
No one is born into the world an artistic genius. Every art genius started by drawing chaotic scribbles.
Becoming a great artist takes years of practice and study. Though you can argue that some artists are more “talented”, that it comes naturally to them, they still at one time sucked.
Seriously, look at any independent webcomic today and compare it to how it was when it first made. Notice how much the art improved!
Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly – G.K. Chesterton
While we’re on the subject of great artists, Picasso did hundreds and hundreds of paintings- but we only really know him for a few. That’s because most of them are meh, but a few of them are absolutely brilliant, and that’s what he’s known for.
Art is most certainly worth doing. So, do it, and do it badly, then move on to the next thing. We learn best by doing things badly.
I highly recommend following Ethan Becker on Youtube. He’s a professional artist and animator and has a lot to say about this very subject.
Don’t Let Perfect be the Enemy of Good – Commonly attributed to Voltaire, but it’s been used by everybody
I can’t tell you how many times I left art pieces unfinished or how much my learning stunted because I spent hours on creating an illustration “that just wasn’t working.” When you see your favorite artists on Instagram- really look at them with a critical eye.
What do you notice? They’re amazing, sure, but they’re not perfect.
There are lots of areas where the proportion’s wrong, or the lineart’s not clean, or the colors are outside the lines (God forbid).
There’s a pretty good chance you didn’t notice these imperfections at first, didn’t you? Well, guess what? To those artists, those imperfections are the worst thing ever. And these are professionals.
Don’t compare yourself to others, compare yourself to who you were yesterday – Jordan Peterson
Yes, I’m aware of the accusations that this guy is a Nazi- they’re untrue. Like idiotically so. Moving on:
This quote I feel is more important than ever. It’s so easy to never want to pick up a paintbrush again because you go on Artstation, Instagram, what have you, see the best results, then have the demon in your mind whispering “You’ll never be that good.”
In reality, that’s just the algorithm picking the best of the best to give you the best user experience and put the best work in front of your eyes.
You Miss 100% of the Shots You Don’t Take – Wayne Gretzky
This is great to play in your mind when you’re looking for people to commission you, or applying for illustration opportunities on Upwork and the like.
Referring back to that pesky little demon telling you you’re not good enough or, in this case, “Why waste your time? You won’t get it.” You can easily reply “Well, if I don’t, I DEFINITELY won’t.”
The end.
It’ll Be Better Next Time – Common Saying
This is definitely true when it comes to art. I’m gonna bet 99% of the time, you’re going to look at all the imperfections in your art and think it’s bad. Guess what? Everybody who can barely draw a stick figure hates you now.
If this is really causing you grief or making you not want to continue, just think, “It’ll be better next time.” Imagine a year from now having dedicated yourself to practice and study, and you’re putting this image side by side an updated version.
Also, yikes. I should take my own advice. The reason why I haven’t written any blogs lately was because I didn’t want to release one unless it was perfect. Last one I wrote was Writing Romantic Chemistry (The 5 Love Languages) in JUNE!
If you want some hope, please consider reading Dragonrider’s Dance from beginning to end, and see how drastically the art’s changed over the months.
