#dreamrants

had a dream last night about a dystopian novel I was reading that had the typical 'people are divided into factions and there's forbidden love' structure, but the factions were so ridiculous it felt kinda like a parody. For example,

-The lead faction was 'the gardeners' and they were all super uppity cottagecore types and had tea parties and stuff despite literally everything else being post apocalyptic

-The lowest faction was called 'Hexway' and they were all bikers/racecar drivers who were in charge of scavenging because they had the vehicles

-i don't remember any other faction clearly, but they were all based around an aesthetic

But anyways the main plot was kinda Romeo and Juliet, with (you probably guessed it) a dude from Hexway and a girl from the Garden falling in love

One of the major plot points was that the dude wanted to stockpile his gasoline ration until he could just...leave

And ofc it had nice whumpy moments such as:

-The dude getting cornered and beat up by a bunch of people from the Garden after he was caught talking to the girl

-The girl agreeing to an arranged marriage in an effort to protect him

-The leader of the faction capturing him anyway and torturing him after finding out he wanted to leave (don't remember a lot of details but I think it involved drugging and some skin being removed)

Who is it that supports our dreams? The ones who love us now or the ones who loved us before the now. The ones who gave up everything for those dreams or the ones who never had to give up a dime, but claim the victory?

Who is it? 

The ones who break our hearts, become the ones who could have been and would have been and will have been. The cycle begins. The cycle continues. It always continues.

It’s okay, she’s got your hand now, I’m not jealous. I’m not even annoyed. I just think you have forgotten that it was me, it was ME, that picked you up when you were at your lowest and invested my whole life into you.

I paid for your damn divorce.

And I’m still waiting for my money back guarantee.

Problem #1: Comparing 

Now every artist, no matter their skill level, will compare their artwork to others. that is a giving. it is a part of how artists grow and learn. we learn by observing others. this is a good thing to do but there is also a flip side.

that flip side is when you compare your work to others and, instead of learning, you begin to think your art is insignificant. that no matter how hard you try you will never be as good as another artist. well, for one thing, these things are not true. Your art is not insignificant. it is not bad. it is beautiful. just because someones art may look fancier or more skillful or anything of that sort does not mean your art is any less good.

you wanna know why? it is because you created it. you poured all your heart, all your skill, and all your emotion into an amazing piece. that alone makes it as great as any other artist out there. because that is exactly what the artists of the past did and the artists of the future will do. no matter what skill level you are at, as long as you love what you created, it is beautiful.

Problem #2: Style

Style is often the most prominent thing an artist has trouble with. Constantly switching between styles throughout your career does get tiring and, often at times, becomes off-putting but that is normal. even if you do not think it you have a constant style. Of course, when compared side to side by past works of art, it seems like it changed but if you look close enough you will see things that remained constant through each piece of art. whether it be the way you drew eyes, the shading, the color palette, anything really. you will start to notice a trend eventually. there will always be something that remains constant. plus do you think the famous artists of the past such as van gogh had a constant style? of course not. but in each of his images you can always find something that remained the same. 

now, with this problem, there is also the type of style. the worry of it not being as eye popping as someone else's. well, in all honesty, this is true. there will be styles more eye popping and eye catching than yours. but that does not mean you still cant catch a persons attention with your own style. each person in this world has a different perspective on the way they view things. so it is obvious that one person will view your art differently than another. just find something that works for you and stick with it. 

Problem #3: Popularity

oh now this is a huge problem artists have trouble with. This goes both hand in hand with the style and comparing. repeat after me: artists are people not gods. just because their art becomes popular or something does not mean they are immediately all knowing holy beings. they worked hard to get where they are. they spent days on end working towards where they are. it is good to look up to them. it is good to view their artwork and learn from it. what is not good is thinking you will never be as popular as them. popularity has nothing to do with what they do. it has nothing to do with their skill level. this "popularity" is nothing more than a little blip on their radar to them. it affects nothing they do. 

as i have learned and many people have stated "you cant please everyone". this is a fact of life. so don't go and try to attract people to you by putting out something that makes you feel wrong or uncomfortable just to become "popular". do what YOU want to do. do what YOU feel comfortable with. DO NOT try to force yourself into uncomfortable situations just to be "popular". you will be the one suffering. no one else. you are unique. only you can do what makes you happy. so do just that. please yourself. dont do it for other people do it for yourself.