Comparing yourself with other artists.

[Money Hunter]

Taken from this thread on a different forum and posted with permission from the person who posted it since I really wanted to share this with you guys:

That awkward moment when someone's doodles are better than your finished art ;-;

ts not awkward at all, just humbling. i used to be a beginner who looked up to someone with my current skill set. theres nothing wrong with admiration.
art itself isnt a competition (except when it literally is an art contest. then it is up to the contest judge and their specific taste and perception of skill and aesthetic.) and its unfair to judge every artist's skills and who's 'better' or 'worse', like its black and white. we're all shades of grey and we all have different experiences, tastes, skills, and creative impulses and ways to express ourselves and of course no one's art is going to look alike. experienced artists are just developed and honed beginners, there is no reason to get down on yourself for starting the long journey to 'being a good artist', which is not a very flattering term to use. skilled, experienced, honed, or unique artist is a better way to go. (imo talent is a lie and does nothing as a compliment for a lot of 'good' artists actually. talent doesnt exist. its all countless hundreds of hours of hard work and dedication.)

constantly comparing yourself is an unhealthy habit every artist at one point has, its never helpful and always self-destructive. once you can learn to stop comparing yourself to everyone you meet, youll be able to be happier drawing the best that you can for the present.

also for the 'doodle looks better than finished' some peoples styles look more appealing in rough, sketchy form. some people's don't. it's all variables. i am slightly more experienced and skilled than you in character drawing right now, so of course my art would reflect that when compared to yours, which i said earlier not to do.

I want to add that this issue applies to all artists, whether they are very skilled or starting out. No matter how good at art you are, there's always someone out there who's better than you, either objectively and subjectively.

Another thing is that the better you are at a certain skill, the more humble you are about it. The more you know about a craft, the more you realize how much more there is to know about it. So if you ever feel your art isn't that great, remember this <:

If this has to be moved, someone please move it.

 

[spCrossing]

I'm...meh when compared to other artists.

Though people do call my art awesome and adorable...so that's something.

 

[honeymoo]

This is so important!! I'm not necessarily an 'artist', but I do design clothing and I'm always putting myself down and comparing to people who are much more established. Thanks for that! : )

 

[Money Hunter]

This is so important!! I'm not necessarily an 'artist', but I do design clothing and I'm always putting myself down and comparing to people who are much more established. Thanks for that! : )

Yeah I actually going through the same type of thing but I stumbled across that post and I wanted to share it with others who are struggling with this as well <3

 

[toastia]

Eh, I just don't take criticism because it makes me feel inferior. I can't see it any other way.

 

[matcha]

i get really frustrated seeing younger people drawing conventionally appealing art and garnering so much attention. art is the only thing i really enjoy and i wanna do it for a living so seeing a lot of these people just do it for fun and never do anything with it makes me feel bad. i compare myself to them and get so disheartened because i hardly get any exposure, and i'm normally hard on myself for everything so it just gets like 10x worse. i know it's an unhealthy mentality to hold but it's not easy to just, not compare yourself to others. that post was a nice read anyway.

 

[toastia]

i get really frustrated seeing younger people drawing conventionally appealing art and garnering so much attention. art is the only thing i really enjoy and i wanna do it for a living so seeing a lot of these people just do it for fun and never do anything with it makes me feel bad. i compare myself to them and get so disheartened because i hardly get any exposure, and i'm normally hard on myself for everything so it just gets like 10x worse. i know it's an unhealthy mentality to hold but it's not easy to just, not compare yourself to others. that post was a nice read anyway.

basically this

 

[Psydye]

I actually agree w/ most of that. person could've used more capitals though. I know it's not the point but I just noticed it!

 

[puppy]

oddly i dont think that way.
when i see some drawing or w/e that i really like i think to myself "i could do that"
to me art isnt so complicated. its just about attention to detail

 

[Tao]

Eh, I just don't take criticism because it makes me feel inferior. I can't see it any other way.

I'm always open to criticism. Though, genuine and constructive criticism only.

- If somebody says "dats krap lololololol ur ghey" then I'll write off their opinion as irrelevant.
- If somebody says "I don't like it because..." and gives some genuine reasons then I'll take it into consideration and maybe try to improve that area if I think it could help to improve my work.



At the end of the day though, all areas of art (be it drawing, music, whatever) are subjective. There's always going to be somebody that doesn't like what you do. You pretty much have to learn to take everything with a pinch of salt and try to use peoples criticism as a potential learning tool rather than a personal attack on you.

The most important thing for an artist to have is thick skin.


Really, I would rather somebody tell me my work is terrible than lie to me to preserve my feelings. You don't learn anything from that.

 

[toastia]

I'm always open to criticism. Though, genuine and constructive criticism only.

- If somebody says "dats krap lololololol ur ghey" then I'll write off their opinion as irrelevant.
- If somebody says "I don't like it because..." and gives some genuine reasons then I'll take it into consideration and maybe try to improve that area if I think it could help to improve my work.



At the end of the day though, all areas of art (be it drawing, music, whatever) are subjective. There's always going to be somebody that doesn't like what you do. You pretty much have to learn to take everything with a pinch of salt and try to use peoples criticism as a potential learning tool rather than a personal attack on you.

The most important thing for an artist to have is thick skin.


Really, I would rather somebody tell me my work is terrible than lie to me to preserve my feelings. You don't learn anything from that.

And that's my problem right there. When I receive it, I know that it's to help me, and by golly it has, but recently i've been seeing all these artists pop up and I see all these wonderful drawings and it just makes me feel worthless.

Constructive criticism is something hard for me to take because I know I'm doing it wrong, and I keep on doing it the wrong way because I can't grasp it completely.

If someone told me it was terrible I would probably cry because I've been working for months now to perfect my style(and it's a long way from what I want it to be). I would rather them lie. That would push me further.

 

[JamesParker]

This is so important!! I'm not necessarily an 'artist', but I do design clothing and I'm always putting myself down and comparing to people who are much more established. Thanks for that! : )

Agree 100%. Even though we're designers, I consider us artists.

But the problem with Fashion and my uni is that every time we have a tutorial our designs are always being compared to known designers which can be frustrating. But I am always on instagram looking at work from people my age and I wind myself up about how good they are or how impeccable their sewing skills are especially because I want to be the best.

 

[Bowie]

Well, I consider myself an artist. I am a singer-songwriter, producer, 3D modeller, 3D animator and digital artist. It all comes together quite nicely because I can use 3D technology to create visuals for my music and make digital art for the same basic purpose. Both combined and not, I think these abilities permit me to consider myself an artist of some sort. I wasted a lot of time in the past waiting for somebody to say that they loved my work, and it took me way too long to realise only I needed to love it in order to be in an artist.

 

[Captain Crazy Chicken]

In comparison to other FAMOUS artists, I'm a failure due to my talent when it comes to humans never able to extend past stick doodles.

In comparison to other artists on this forum, I can be seen as an OK person thanks to the sheer effort I put into my work, especially later on as my art gets better, and I create new ideas.

 

[Mega_Cabbage]

I used to do that, but I got over it. Many people have more experience than me, and that experience is going to show. I'm only in high school and I know I can greatly improve as I get older if I keep practicing. Eventually I'll just get there, and if not, who cares? It's art.

 

[piichinu]

I compare my own art to other artists, especially since im trying to replicate an artist's style (shes gone, sadly ). Anyway besides that, i still compare to other artists which is really dumb and i need to stop but oh well. its kinda motivating to me

 

[Money Hunter]

i get really frustrated seeing younger people drawing conventionally appealing art and garnering so much attention. art is the only thing i really enjoy and i wanna do it for a living so seeing a lot of these people just do it for fun and never do anything with it makes me feel bad. i compare myself to them and get so disheartened because i hardly get any exposure, and i'm normally hard on myself for everything so it just gets like 10x worse. i know it's an unhealthy mentality to hold but it's not easy to just, not compare yourself to others. that post was a nice read anyway.

'Stop comparing yourself with other artists and draw the best you can for the present.'
I guess it must be kind of difficult to do that, but it varies from person to person since I got rid of my unhealthy mentality in a month or so.

- - - Post Merge - - -

And that's my problem right there. When I receive it, I know that it's to help me, and by golly it has, but recently i've been seeing all these artists pop up and I see all these wonderful drawings and it just makes me feel worthless.

Constructive criticism is something hard for me to take because I know I'm doing it wrong, and I keep on doing it the wrong way because I can't grasp it completely.

If someone told me it was terrible I would probably cry because I've been working for months now to perfect my style(and it's a long way from what I want it to be). I would rather them lie. That would push me further.

I've seen a lot of people deal with criticism in this way. Just remember that you're drawing for your own benefit and not for the sake of others. Art is subjective and if someone doesn't like your art, it doesn't mean your art is bad. It just means they have different taste.

Why do other peoples drawing make you feel worthless? Even if your art is lacking, you're not. Those drawings probably took hours and hours of work and years of practice and there probably was at a time when they looked up to other artists and were disappointed as well.

- - - Post Merge - - -

Well, I consider myself an artist. I am a singer-songwriter, producer, 3D modeller, 3D animator and digital artist. It all comes together quite nicely because I can use 3D technology to create visuals for my music and make digital art for the same basic purpose. Both combined and not, I think these abilities permit me to consider myself an artist of some sort. I wasted a lot of time in the past waiting for somebody to say that they loved my work, and it took me way too long to realise only I needed to love it in order to be in an artist.

You are good at so many things I lost track
but motivating words c:

 

[Stacyfaith]

I'm always open to criticism. Though, genuine and constructive criticism only.

- If somebody says "dats krap lololololol ur ghey" then I'll write off their opinion as irrelevant.
- If somebody says "I don't like it because..." and gives some genuine reasons then I'll take it into consideration and maybe try to improve that area if I think it could help to improve my work.



At the end of the day though, all areas of art (be it drawing, music, whatever) are subjective. There's always going to be somebody that doesn't like what you do. You pretty much have to learn to take everything with a pinch of salt and try to use peoples criticism as a potential learning tool rather than a personal attack on you.

The most important thing for an artist to have is thick skin.


Really, I would rather somebody tell me my work is terrible than lie to me to preserve my feelings. You don't learn anything from that.

This!!!

I couldn't have said it better myself. I hate when my design and art teachers try to be "nice" and don't tell me when something is wrong with my work. -__- People don't get better if they keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Improvement is realizing the mistakes in your work and learning to fix them; as simple as that.

Please don't be afraid of criticism. Can it sting sometimes? Of course, especially when you spend a lot of time on a piece and there might be a lot wrong with it. But that's okay, that's how you learn. Remember that with each piece you make, you are improving. It might not happen quickly (it usually doesn't), or it might feel like you're getting nowhere, but trust me, with every piece, you grow. Try to keep every drawing you make, so in, let's say, a year from now, you can look back at it and I guarantee you'll see a nice difference.

And if you feel an artist who is younger than you is "better" than you, well, that's alright too. Maybe they started their craft earlier, maybe they had access to better resources, etc. Who knows, but I know that there's nothing you can do about that artist's skills. However, you can choose to use them as an inspiration (what do you like about their art? Their color, their lines, etc.) instead of using them as a discouragement. Because discouragement gets us nowhere!

Hehe okay I'm done with my essay now. I feel very strongly about this topic. Thanks for this thread. This is very important.

 

[Bowie]

You are good at so many things I lost track
but motivating words c:

Thank you!

 

[doveling]

ahah i admit to comparing myself and yes it isn't healthy, like alot of the people stated in here~
i look at others art and then back at mine and i then feel very very competitive. very competitive, especially if its "better" than mine, i guess its a good thing as it helps me strive to get better, but also bad since i.. just want to be the best ahah.

i don't take criticism well, and i know constructive criticism is a great way to find out your flaws and then improve from there, but it just sucks knowing that you suck at something you know? i appreciate the criticism, but it always gets me.

im also counted i guess as a younger artist, im 14, and i do ok art for someone my age.. and i would understand if older people would feel down if they saw a younger artist with better quality art i guess.. like but in our century at the moment, alot of young kids are getting exposed to the internet, and art, and tablets, and tutorials etc so they get a good kick into the art world.
but yeah i also vomit in my mouth when i see someone the same age as me or younger do better than me ahah.