[Discussion] how do I fix this?

[u/Tylorius009]

Recently I’ve wanted to study values and colors and looked up a video on how to study those. I watch the video and after finishing it I’ve lost all motivation to even study bc of the art shown in the video. I’m aware there’s no way I could be as good as someone that has practiced for years but I can’t do anything about his disheartenment. Everyone always says the find inspiration in other peoples art when all I feel is dread and and sadness that I can’t and might never be able to draw as good as them. How do I fix this or is this even fixable? I’ve been trying to beat it for so long but it just makes drawing impossible for me.

[u/Imaginary_Lock_1290]

Most people will never run like Usain Bolt but there's still a lot of jogging clubs.

You can enjoy making art and your art can bring a lot of joy to people even if you are not the best at it.

[u/No-Meaning-4090]

I don't know if I have any practical advice on how to deal with this, but I know for a fact the only way you'll garuntee you'll never be as good as other people is by getting so bent out of shape that you quit trying.

[u/ZombieButch]

If the only way you're going to enjoy doing something is by being the best at it, that's not an art problem, that's a you problem. You fix you problems by talking to therapists, not artists.

[u/Final-Elderberry9162]

I mean, if we’re all competing with, say, the drawing abilities of Raphael, why do any of us bother?

It’s not a competition. Enjoy making what you’re making. Express what you’re excited to express. Have a good time.

I do believe this kind of thinking (from my own experiences) stems from fear and anxiety more than anything else. It helps me enormously if I just remind myself that these feelings come from my ridiculous brain chemistry and aren’t actually about anything. If you otherwise enjoy making art - just do that, and do whatever you need to do to make the self sabotaging parts of yourself to quiet down.

[u/Final-Elderberry9162 → u/Final-Elderberry9162]

Also, it might not be a terrible idea to stop scrolling for a week or two and just focus on whatever it is you’re doing. Basically: get off the internet.

[u/zacnaf]

i read somewhere (and think it makes a lot of sense) that people always dislike their own art cause it looks like they made it & if they get better it’ll look like a better person made it, but the problem is there’s no level of skill that you stop being you… it doesn’t solve your problem directly but so much of art is so deeply personal that besides technical processes and skill sets, it just helps to understand the weirdness and the highs & lows of what creating does to people mentally. 🤷‍♂️ it’s the same idea as the meme of “would you take $500k if you knew your worst enemy got $1.5M??? …yes i would absolutely love $2M.”

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[u/Alien-Reporter-267]

Just think about the vastness of art styles. There's such simple art that is so so striking. Just because you don't have these crazy technical abilities, doesnt mean your art isn't good or worth making!

[u/Arcask]

The source of you feeling this way is your insecurity and not feeling good enough. Why do you compare yourself on this level?

Why do you think you have to be as good as them? why do you think what you do has no value if it's not on the same level?

You are just judging yourself too hard on some unrealistic standards that you created yourself. Sorry if this sounds harsh, because you might have not done this intentionally, but fact is you make unfair comparisons and beat yourself up for it.

Why do you have to compare?
Comparison might be a human and it can be helpful with the right dosage, but 1:1 comparisons are never fair nor helpful. This is what is setting an unrealistic standard, you belief that you have no value if you can't rise to their level and you are sure that you can never reach that level, which is the very thing keeping you in place. You are sabotaging yourself!

Another thing is that you watch so many videos before you get to work. Watch a video, then do it! If it's something you haven't done before, you are a beginner, you've got to be bad before you can become good. This is universal, it happens with everything you want to learn. You have to be bad first! It's ok, you are doing this to learn! Doing things perfectly right doesn't teach you a thing, but mistakes do!

Plans and knowledge have no value if they are not being used, if they are not put to the test of making experiences to confirm them, to pull through with your plans. You can collect 100 books, read them, but you might not be able to use a single thing you've "learned" because you lack experience.
To keep reading, to keep watching more just feeds your insecurity of maybe not knowing everything yet. You are procrastinating on actually making progress.

And you don't know the future, you might become even better than the person who made the video. To think you will never be as good, is just beating yourself up. Not only are you sabotaging your own progress and future with this, you are punishing yourself for who you are. First and foremost you are human! That is enough! You don't have to live up to anyone's expectations, not even your own. You are human! Being human means to be imperfect. You might fail, make mistakes, be slow, be different, but none of this has anything to do with your value.

Perfect doesn't exist! It's an ideal that can't be reached, just an illusion, a fantasy. When we call something perfect, then it's because it's as close to our ideals as somehow possible. It's not really perfect.

Mistakes and failure are opportunities! We learn the most by making mistakes. We are taught that mistakes are bad, because they get punished and doing things right is getting rewarded. But the lessons we learn by making mistakes, by failing, are the lessons that stick with us. Don't beat yourself up for being imperfect or making mistakes, it just means you are learning and whatever happens will make you stronger and knowledgeable, maybe even wiser and kinder than you were before. Depends on what you learned from it.

It doesn't matter what we did, the past is over, what matters is what decisions you make regarding your future right now. Because only right now you have the power to change, to make better decisions based on your knowledge and experience.
Can you blame yourself for not knowing better before this moment? you didn't know better. There is nothing you can do about it but to accept it.

Your decisions will decide weather you can become better. Not your fears.

Find better ways to deal with your frustrations. Instead of beating yourself up, what if you invest the energy into becoming better?

Stop thinking about what if's and get to do what you just researched, those color and value studies. Just focus on doing things, getting stuff done. You can't change who you are right now, but you can change who you are tomorrow! You can decide if you still want to do this thing or if tomorrow you've already done it.

So what will you do now?

[u/the_usernameless_one]

1) u gotta warmup with inconsequential and often bad doodles to get it flowing. 2) you only have so much focus in a day, the same kind that u use for drawing is also used up by scrolling, watching videos, and especially playing video games. It is just a fact of life to be managed.

[u/Mindless_Fan3604]

I am not a great artist but I LOVE making things and creating. I never try to do art like someone else because I would always feel disappointed. Even when I don’t love a piece, I always learn something new. Just do you!
I do enjoy watching others but my goal is never to be like them.

[u/lunarjellies]

Answer: Turn off all of that and just work on art because you enjoy doing it.