# How do I stop being so discouraged...



## Namba (Jul 24, 2011)

...by seeing people at the age of 14 be so fucking awesome at anatomy and shading and people my age drawing things so real you can almost touch it? And what about people who work a few months and have a strong enough grasp on art to do some fairly impressive works of art? I've considered many times quitting because of this, but I don't want to but somehow can't be confident enough in myself to trust I'll improve at all. Are there just some people who really can't do it? I've always heard "anyone can learn", but while reading and practicing from some books, I'm really not so certain. Having shaky hands doesn't help, either


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## Fay V (Jul 24, 2011)

All I ever see is people that are better than me. People with technical grasp far beyond mine. something that helped has been to focus on one small thing in a picture and improve it. the eyes, fur, something small. I accept that my overall picture will not be perfect, but I do my best overall, and with that one tiny focus I can at least say I improved one thing. 
For instance This is one of the best things I've done. There is more in this picture that I need to fix than I can count, but the two things I really focused on was the fog, and the fur, and I like how it turned out. I learned new techniques for both. I got a little better.


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## Namba (Jul 24, 2011)

Well, that's pretty encouraging. Great picture, by the way. So one small thing at a time, huh? That sounds like something that would work for me.


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## Ilayas (Jul 24, 2011)

No matter how good you are there will always be someone that is "better" and probably younger then you.  This is true not only of artwork but also of many many things in life (sports, video games, hobbies ect...).  Yet people still play sports/games, pick up hobbies and work hard at improving at them knowing full well that they will never be the best or even professional level.  They do it because the activity it's self is enjoyable.  You can't be an artist with the intention of being the best artist ever or even in the upper 50th percentile. You'll drive your self crazy.  You should make art because you enjoy doing art.  It doesn't matter if some one 1/2 your age is better then you what matters is that you continue to improve and find enjoyment in what you are doing. If you find no intrinsic joy in the act of creating artwork then perhaps it's time to find a different hobby.

As for improving set realistic goals for your self.  Like I want to be better at doing hands, or I want to be better at shading. Don't make goals such as I want to be able to shade like this artist I really admire or I want to draw hands as good as this other artist.  You should just work on being better then you are not as good as some one else.


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## Namba (Jul 24, 2011)

Haha damn, easy for you to say lolSeriously though, I appreciate it and I really do enjoy drawing, but I want to get as much as I can out of it, if that makes sense.


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## Taralack (Jul 24, 2011)

Quit comparing yourself to others and beating yourself up over it. Comparing yourself to other people is fine as long as you don't get too dejected about it, instead learn to take something away from seeing every piece of work that is better than yours, and apply it to your own art. 

I know, this is easier said than done. We've all been through it, especially with the internet where you can get instant gratification via comments, views and favourites. It's easy to get depressed because XYZ has worse art than you but more favs/views/comments. But you need to learn to step back and ignore all those for a moment, and just draw because you enjoy it.


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## Namba (Jul 25, 2011)

Good advice, man. Thanks. I'm always comparing myself to other people


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## Jw (Jul 25, 2011)

Keep in mind:
People associate watches with technical skills. This is not so. People tend to watch those that make fan art of their favorite character, or have some really impressive pieces  they happened to favorite or see this person's name or artwork faved on another person's page. That is more of a community involvement matter. I don't know why people tend to get so wrapped up in numbers an figures when they're trying to improve their art. It's art-- you can't quantify it on its inherent qualities, but rather get a broad understanding, examine what was done well and what needs improvement.

Next time you come across an inspirational artist, don't get bogged down. Evaluate their skills. Look at what they obviously know how to do, and see if you can learn from them. If you recognize flaws in a particular area, you can listen to them, but it is most constructive if you learn that aspect from someone else that knows a lot. Just like I wouldn't read a book on color if I wanted to learn anatomy, so you too shouldn't try and learn color theory from someone who has only primarily learned anatomy. 

Okay, not to drop the boring crap: people will make art that is different from yours. That is okay. you need to worry about your own work and skills instead of theirs.You can't change their skill set, but you CAN improve your own. That is where the power lies in the situation. Change what you can, accept what you can't. 

that being said, finding a good art community will be beneficial. If you can find one in real life, use them and learn from them. Sometimes (as in my case), it's more difficult and easier to use a good art site like www.conceptart.org/forums to learn and grow instead of the stupid competitive crap you see on dA or FA. Competition still exists, but it's not about numerics. It's about who can improve the most, which is MUCH healthier.

Also, as a final note, if you have never read "Art and Fear" before, I suggest you go pick up a copy of the book as soon as you can. It's really inspirational and helps crawl out of funks. You can find a thead stickied in the Tutorials section here "A Message of Inspiration" that may also be something to look into.


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## FireFeathers (Jul 25, 2011)

Have better disicpline about being discouraged. It's gonna happen, and there's always gonna be people better. That's half what makes this job so fun; if you were at the top of what you did and felt complacent that there was no challenger, then this would be a boring path to take. Always strive to do better and you will get better. I started doing this at 19 and used being inferior to everyone as the fuel to get my shit into gear quicker.


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## Arshes Nei (Jul 25, 2011)

I wasn't aware there was some world art contest that compares you age wise...

I do art for my own reasons, not looking at someone's age. I don't see why I should get discouraged over having my own reasons for making art.


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## Heimdal (Jul 25, 2011)

You're thinking too much about why you're drawing. Just draw.

No amount of perfection can duplicate mistakes, and mistakes can be the best part of a picture if you know how to harness them. Don't strive to be others, and don't strive for perfection; strive to draw, and good shit will appear the more you do so.


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## Namba (Jul 25, 2011)

I appreciate this, guys. You're right; I've been going about this kind of wrong. I guess I get so frustrated because one concept I'll start picking up quickly, but another is difficult to grasp... maybe I've been thinking too hard about reaching a goal instead of focusing on just improving. Honestly, if it weren't for all this competitive shit, I probably would enjoy it more, but I also have the Internet to thank for some things I was ignorant of...


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## Taralack (Jul 26, 2011)

luti-kriss said:


> if it weren't for all this competitive shit


The only one who is making this competitive is YOU. (unless you enter art in a contest, then that's your own prerogative) Yes, competition and looking at others work can help you improve too, but you can't let it drag you down by thinking about it too much.


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## Namba (Jul 26, 2011)

Toraneko said:


> The only one who is making this competitive is YOU. (unless you enter art in a contest, then that's your own prerogative) Yes, competition and looking at others work can help you improve too, but you can't let it drag you down by thinking about it too much.


 I can't argue with that


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## Centradragon (Jul 26, 2011)

I hate to mirror Toraneko's comment (since he put it pretty darn eloquently)... but comparing yourself to other artists won't really get you anyplace you want to go. It's sort of like when people compare certain genres or styles of art. Some people do amazing realism, and others do fantastic cartooning... each has their own place in the art world, and one isn't inherently "better" than the other.
[sub]Once upon a time I had some pretty bad anxiety/depression and it made it really difficult to focus on art. :I  If you're continuously feeling down on yourself and can't motivate yourself to overcome those obstacles, maybe you should look into getting that checked out?[/sub]


The more you draw, the more you'll improve... it takes dozens (and dozens!) of times to actually make a significant improvement, so don't be discouraged before you get to that point. Like Fay V said, focusing on small accomplishments might just be the way to do that.


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## Namba (Jul 26, 2011)

Thank you  I'll try to get over it and keep at it


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## DarrylWolf (Jul 26, 2011)

Have you ever thought of attending museum receptions and asking the contemporary artists how they got their ideas. And remember the key aspect of making art is self-expression and having fun, not making money


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## Aleu (Jul 26, 2011)

Pretty much what others said.
Also, what helps me (personally) is looking back at older drawings and kinda self critiquing in a way. Usually, when I'm working on something, I put my all into it. Then, I stop for a while and look back at it and go "ew. This needs to be like this" and so forth.


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## Namba (Jul 27, 2011)

DarrylWolf said:


> Have you ever thought of attending museum receptions and asking the contemporary artists how they got their ideas. And remember the key aspect of making art is self-expression and having fun, not making money


I should definitely do that... lol I'm not planning on making a dime on my art (whenever it'd be acceptable, that is).





Aleu said:


> Pretty much what others said.Also, what helps me (personally) is looking back at older drawings and kinda self critiquing in a way. Usually, when I'm working on something, I put my all into it. Then, I stop for a while and look back at it and go "ew. This needs to be like this" and so forth.


Yeah, that's what I do too. I surprise myself sometimes lol


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