Are you proud of your art?

[TsukiShima]

While I thought I have already overcome this dilemma, I'm again questioning myself whether my art is good enough or not. I know that we're not suppose to compare ourselves that badly, but I also know that if it's for the sake of improvement, you can take something or someone as your guide to reach a certain level that you desire. But reaching that level will not be easy.

I've begin to collect of some artworks of a certain fandom, and I was impressed of the artist's style and thought to myself that 'Wow, I wish I can draw like this person!'. I have to admit that I envy some people's skills that I don't have. I kept telling myself that I have my own specialty, but every now and then I still wished I had some other skills too. My art is described as cute, and I'm hoping to reach a certain level where it'll turn to be cool, too!

It's not that I'm not proud... But I guess, like most artists said, you'll never be satisfied of your own work.

I know that I have to draw more and more to reach that level, and that's what I'm going to do!

Um, have anyone gone through that phase too, I wonder?

[15385bic]

i go through that all the time
i mean sometimes i actually like my sketches but rarely would i like my own colouring OTL
needs to practice colouring >3<!

[arachni42]

Yeah, I have a hard time being proud. On one hand, there's stuff I know I can do a lot better than a lot of people. On the other hand, there are obviously people who blow me out of the water. Plus I can't be bothered to do a *lot* of art, at least not relatively speaking. You know, some research has demonstrated that masters of a field -- any field: art, music, sports, etc -- have all had 10,000+ hours of practice. For some reason, 10,000 hours seems to be the magic number. They probably had some talent to begin with too (you don't usually spend 10,000 hours doing something you're no good at), but it shows that lots and lots of practice counts. That's about 5 years of 40 hour weeks, so it really is doable if you're dedicated, but I'm far from that dedicated.

The thing is, even though I'm "good" compares to a lot of people and my friends might look at something I do and go "that's cool!", I don't exactly feel "proud" when I see the stuff done by the pros. Oh well, I don't think this is a bad thing; there's always something to aspire to.

[SundownKid]

I don't think you should pigeonhole yourself by saying "I can only draw cute art" or "I am only skilled enough to do this". If you actively try to diversify your art, I think you will certainly be able to draw better over time. It only takes practice, there is no special brain function that lets you draw great art.

The great artists are the ones who study art a lot, practice drawing a lot, until they can become a professional, you get in what you put out.

[Klawzie]

I've reached a point where I no longer question if I have any skill or not. I can look at more of my art now and be happy with it for longer than I used to be. ("Back in the day" I would scan something, hate it, and toss it without ever uploading it anywhere, unless a friend were expecting it.)

But I know I'll be learning all my life. I don't push myself as much anymore (I'm focusing more on my writing right now, so it has a higher priority) so I know I'll learn at a slower rate than I used to. It's something I can live with, but am not exactly proud of the fact that I'd much rather do something else than push myself with art.

If you keep pushing yourself and learning from even styles you don't much care for (I'm not really a fan of drawing in a realistic style, but I've taken art classes and done studies for realism regardless because I know they're useful even if I don't have as much fun with them), you'll find a style you're at least comfortable with - though maybe not "happy with". "Style Envy" isn't exactly a bad thing. You can find elements from anything that you like and incorporate it into your style. Or develop "secondary styles". (I have a few "secondary styles" myself and they're useful for different things and might help you incorporate some "cool" into your "cute", for example.)

I'm babbling. But, good luck.

[nyaatrap]

I usually pretend to I'm proud of my art. Otherwise, it can be an insult for someone who said "I like your art", or "you are skilled" e.t.c.
So I'd say I am, even I have something other thoughts in my heart.

[Rye]

Depend. Really, I 'love' my boy's sketches, but I had huge hatred either with girl or shota. But I don't envy other arts because if they're better then they are worth to admire, not envy. Better art is a great target to improve.

[JumpJump]

I really hated the stuff I used to draw. It was some time before I realised that is really wasn't me that didn't like them, but, it was those who I was made to look up too and respect. Once I seen that they where full of themselves, I changed my view. I still sometimes cringe when I look at work, as it never ended how I wanted, but, I keep on going.

[rock_an9el]

Well... I can say I'm fond of my art because with practice I keep improving. Though, I can't say that sometimes I'm not jealous of other artists and their skills.
But in the end I know i love making art, eventhough I'm not confident in it all the time.

[azureXtwilight]

You know, I just had to post this link:

http://yuumei.deviantart.com/journal/Re ... -351677123

[Deji]

I'm really proud of my art right now! I think it looks good and I think I've improved a lot! That makes me happy

...And I'm sure in a month I'll hate whatever I'm doing right now, hahaha x'DDD But that happens to everybody

You'll never be 'good enough', because 'good enough' is a goal that keeps moving as your skill keeps improving.
yes, I do look at other artist's art and I'm like "I wish I could draw/color/paint/make compositions/draw action poses/etc like that!!" and maybe one day, with enough focused practice, I will, but by the time I get there, I'll have other people I look up to that I'd wish I could match in skills, and so on.
You'll never be perfect. EVER.
Just enjoy your process, focus on learning whatever you want to learn (like, I suck at drawing feet! So I'll go find photos of feet and draw 100 feet or more until i get them right!), practice and have fun

[Einara]

I'm proud of the progress I'm making. Not so proud of drawings themselves, though.

[falsedelusion]

I'm in that hole right now. I'm really hating the way I colour along with a bunch of other things like how I can't draw cool poses.

I personally think this is a good and bad thing.
Good: It's serious motivation for me to improve and get better. In a few years time, when I look back on all my artwork, I might see a big jump in my skills
Bad: It's a hit on my self-confidence OTL

sigh...

[TheGuraGuraMan]

I'm proud of my improvements, tough I'm not satisfied yet.

[Akitsuki]

To be honest, nope, not really. I was proud of it when I was still a kid, when I didn't know much about drawings (with people around you kept telling that you draw it really good; to motivate, of course). Let's just say through internet I saw tons of beautiful, fascinating works and because of that, my criteria of 'good drawing' increases as well. And my improvement isn't as fast as that. Whenever I finished a drawing, somehow I always feel something I don't know is missing compared to other people's work. In the end, I never think that I'm proud of my art.

Thou of course there are times when I think my drawing is better than usual but it won't take a month before I'm bored and disappointed. Or sometimes when I'm satisfied with the lineart, the color turns everything down. I simply need more practice, especially in coloring.