No Excuses: “So many people are better than me…”
I know this can be discouraging. Your tooling around on the interwebz and you see all these phenomenal artists out there. When you compare that to your own art you feel inadequate and you’re discouraged from even trying to continue. But the fact that so many people are better than you is not an excuse to give up. So pick that pencil back up!
If anything it should inspire you. At some point in these artist’s development they were just like you, so looking at their art is like looking into your own future. If you don’t give up, work really hard, your art will be that amazing. These amazing artists that discourage you is the proof that I’ve been telling you the truth. If you study, practice, stay persistent and never give up, and give it enough time your art will be amazing. These artists did it that and you see the results, why do you think you’ll be any different? You see the road and you see the finish line. Don’t quit because other runners who had a head start already finished. It doesn’t mean you can’t cross the finish line, you just need to keep moving forward. If you sit down and quit, you’ll never get there.
“But Shono,” you’ll argue because for some inexplicable reason you want to convince me you’re a loser. Well I don’t believe it, I know you can do it, so don’t even finish that thought….
….okay fine, you can finish it…
“But Shono, some of these artists that discourage me are so much younger, how can you say that they have a head start when they’re younger than me?”
I saw an amazing artist yesterday that is exponentially better than I am. This artist was 9 years younger than me also. Did it make me want to break my pencils and give up. No, but it did make me want to re-evaluate how I’ve been working on my art and figure out what I can do to increase my development. But the thing i had to keep in mind was I don’t know this artist’s background. I took my first art class when i was 19, so I had a pretty late start compared to others. This artist could have been taking art classes non stop since she was 10. Or perhaps she’s worked harder than me in studying and practicing anatomy and color theory. The thing is, I don’t know the artists background, so I can’t compare myself to them. Age doesn’t mean anything. The only thing that counts is how long, and how hard you work at becoming a great artist. Someone who spends 30 minutes a day will not progress as fast as someone who spends 10 hours a day. Then again, that person who spends 30 minutes a day being extremely diligent in trying to improve, will progress faster than someone who spends 10 hours a day practicing the same mistakes.
But all of that isn’t even the point. Yes it’s important to practice and study and improve. However even if you work as hard as possible your art may never EVER EVER look like these artists you admire…. and that’s a great thing. As similar as human beings are to one another, we are entirely unique. We have unique personalities, and experiences, and histories, and different ways to deal with and express these personalities, experiences, and histories. That different and unique way to express yourself makes your art one of a kind. No one in the universe can make art the same way that you can. So if you give up because other artists are making unique art you deem as better, then you’re extinguishing your unique artistic voice, as well as depriving the world of the amazing art you would have created in the future.
So think of the people of the future. Give them the comics you make, not the excuses.
So tomorrow I’ll be showing you some commissions i’ve been working on, Then it’s the weekend! Christmas is getting close I hope i can get everything in time! In the mean time check me out around the web:
Have a great weekend! See you monday for a new page of Shadows of Oblivion! In the mean time check me out around the web:
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And if you love my artwork don’t forget to pick up my comics!
And remember: Make Comics! Not Excuses!
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