Staying Motivated for Art is Hard…
If you are here for tips on how to stay motivated, you’re not in the right tag or article… Though that tag looks SPARSE… At this rate, I might as well get rid of the TipsandTutorials tag and make this part the creator’s note/ diary. It will just be me looking back and talking about my feelings.
Anyway, I don’t have any tips because I’m also trying hard to stay motivated. There are days I don’t even do anything and would just wallow in despair. There are also better articles or videos about motivation from other creators like Drawabox, Proko, Blender Guru, etc.
The only advice I have and am currently clinging to for dear life is “don’t compare yourself to others.” But that’s easier said than done… It took me years to realize that.
And it’s hard, especially when social media is so prevalent in getting a following and building an art career.
A Cycle of Self-Depreciation
Whenever I used to go online, I saw so many amazing artists post breathtaking artworks. I started comparing my art with theirs, wishing I could draw like them.
The number game doesn’t help either. No matter how many times I posted, no matter how many hashtags I used, my follower count never changed. Even now, my artworks hardly get any likes, and it feels like I’m shouting at an endless pit of nothingness. And at some point it kind of felt like my self-worth was and is still based on how many followers I have.
And it made me hate drawing because I can never be like other artists. No matter how hard I tried to learn color theory, perspective, or forms, I could never achieve 1% of their work. Sometimes the artists are even younger than me, and the overwhelming bitterness consumes me.
So, I would stop.
I would stop drawing, and I would stop using social media.
It was like a cycle. I would feel passionate and draw every day for months -> go onto social media -> see amazing art from amazing artists -> feel disheartened that I can’t draw like them -> stop drawing and stop using social media. And then, a few months later I will suddenly feel inspired and start drawing again.
So how did I break the cycle (or trying to)?
Hard Truths
Theory of Time
You see that 15-second speed painting of an amazing masterpiece? And wonder how they created that? It’s an illusion. You don’t know how long it took to make. It could take them 30 minutes or days on end. Planning, blocking, coloring, rendering, etc. Behind the screen, you don’t know unless they tell you. Not only that, but how long did they learn how to create that masterpiece? Art is a discipline, and sometimes it takes years to master something.
This leads me to people’s starting points.
Starting Points
Everyone has different starting points. Some people might already have a firm grasp and understanding of forms and anatomy, while others might struggle to decipher the hieroglyphics.
Hah… I will never remember anything, no matter how much I try to study figure drawing and anatomy… Sternocleidomastoid??? Stop… you’re just making up words now…
If I remember that muscle, I would’ve become a doctor or a scientist.
People have different speeds in learning and acquiring skill sets. And that is just how life is. It’s something everyone knows, but it’s a hard pill to swallow and internalize. There will always be people who will be ahead of you and people who are behind you (even regardless of age.)
Luck
Luck is also a factor in making it big. Sometimes the algorithm works its magic, and your tweet or video gets a lot of views and exposure. Never happened to me, but I saw it happen on Twitter and YouTube. A random creator suddenly gets a lot of views. And their subscriber count jumped from 100 to 100k subs.
But it happens only to a few. We only notice the lucky ones because they’ve made it.
We don’t see millions of other creators with only 100 subscribers who are trying their best too.
Changing the Target
“Don’t compare yourself to others.”
Hah… I can’t help but scoff at that statement…
Especially in this day and age where social media is such a fixture in people’s lives, it is impossible not to compare yourself to others.
But… if I can’t stop comparing myself to someone… then…
Why not change the target?
To myself?
I started comparing my artwork from a month ago.
And then from a year ago.
I’m improving.
Holy shit.
My forms are getting less stiff. The anatomy is less wonky. I kind of understand perspective.
I’M IMPROVING. IT’S MINUSCULE BUT I SEE IT!
It blew my mind. (figuratively)
Yea, I might not be as good at something as another person. I might not fully grasp a concept. And that’s okay. If I compare myself to myself from a year ago, and I see some improvements, whether drawing or anything, I’m happy. As long as I’m improving and learning, that’s all that matters.
Conclusion
To anyone reading this article, how did you end up here??? I’m surprised you’re reading this… But I give you my best wishes.
It might seem like I’m parroting what others say… but I truly mean it when I say not to compare yourself to others. Because retrospectively, it’s true. My mindset changed once I stopped comparing myself to others and focused on my journey. And it’s something I wished I could tell my younger self. I don’t know when but at some point, I stopped caring, or maybe I’m forcing myself not to care… But I can see my art is improving and I know I’m doing my best. I’m satisfied.
It’s not easy to stop comparing youself to others… Maybe as time passes, you will see that it wouldn’t matter as much as it does right now.
Cheers.
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