Okay, so, lately i have been seeing and hearing about a lot of artists out there becoming down in the dumps due to some self doubts. i am just going to address some of these problems that artists face that may cause these fits of self doubt and give some of my ideas and thoughts on how to deal with and/ or overcome them.
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.
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.
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.
reminder: these are my thoughts, my opinions and my ideas. if you see anything that you disagree with please be civil about it. i am willing to listen to what you have to say because i am always willing to learn and im sure others are to. thank you and have a great day.