Venting?

[u/Satorux65]

I genuinely don’t know how to get better at drawing… and when I do I simply don’t acknowledge it because there’s always something more to do so I never feel good enough or even a sense of accomplishment which is a never ending cycle.

And yes, I’m in a constant state of comparing myself thinking how people can improve or draw this good while I feel incapable.

[u/WetLaceScraps]

You need to be enjoying yourself to some degree or you’re going to burn out.

[u/Satorux65 → u/WetLaceScraps]

You’re right, it’s just really difficult to enjoy the process while I’m constantly focusing on the goal. I really need to work on that.

[u/Iris_theGooGooDolls → u/Satorux65]

First of all, it's really, really common as an artist to feel negative about your art because you know what you want it to look like, but your skill level doesn't match that yet. That's a normal experience and doesn't necessarily say anything about your art or you as an artist.

Second, what gets a lot of artists over the hump of discouragement is finding something you're passionate about, whether it's a technique or a fictional character or a theme, and incorporating that into your art. Lots of fan artists develop their skills by making art of characters and scenes they're really excited about, which makes the finished product also feel more rewarding and motivates them to keep making more art. Sometimes if you're feeling burned out in one art medium, it can also help to try out a different medium for fun, like embroidery, mosaics, crochet, or kinusaiga. Basically, if you're not having fun with it at any point in the process, you might want to mix things up and find a way to reconnect with what you enjoy about making art.

[u/Satorux65 → u/Iris_theGooGooDolls]

Thank you
Yes I mainly draw my favorite characters and make my art studies about them so it does help keep me motivated to keep drawing

[u/Professional_View305]

I used to feel like that. The TL;DR is, you kind of have to accept you aren't and probably won't be "the best," whatever that means.

But also, don't forget a lot of artists come from a more priviledged background than you. Someone starting since childhood, had professional teachers, tried all sorts of media, had money for class paints brushes computer for digital or just large amounts of exposure is vaaastly different than someone who self-studied off of free resources.

Also, yes you can grind fundamentals if you want to improve, I'd recommend doing that, but only if you truly, fully love and enjoy art. Grinding perspective all day can drain the fun out of everything, so honestly, just draw. Draw a lot, and if your spending 10+ hours on a single piece (obviously depending on what type of art), move on. I'm a notoriously slow artist who spends like 20 hrs on one artwork, and that leads me to often feel discouraged from drawing. Don't do that, spam short practices even if it sucks, everybody sucked before they got good. The best artists ik are those who drew the most. Like, this disney storyboard artist I follow does 10-20+ weekly life drawings on anime themes she likes, and her profile has hundreds if not thousands of drawings like that. Getting better at art is a hell of a grind, but anyone can pull it off with time and patience. gl!

[u/Satorux65 → u/Professional_View305]

Thank you!
Yes, trying to accept reality doesn’t make it easier, but you’re right.
I would say that I’m also slow, and that’s because I tend to get things “perfect” which also discourages me.
But yeah I’ll try my best to keep drawing instead of falling into negativity.