Advice on how to settle with my own art?

[nattoari]

Hello everyone. I'm currently working on a visual novel by myself. I have free time so I want to do something at least playable. I didn't have much problem with the writing part, but I'm the artist making all the resources and I have a pretty bad relationship with my drawings. Let me explain...
I have a general idea for the charachter, hairstyle, clothes, everything. When I start sketching I'm on good spirits and I actually like when the lineart is done.
Then I start getting stuck, first with coloring and shading, and then, when I think my sprite or anything I did is completed, I just look at it and hate it.
My art skills are not bad, actually the next day I kinda like it, and start seeing it with non biased eyes(IF I didn't delete the whole thing, yes- i do this a lot, even when drawing in paper, i just throw it to the garbage)... One day my mom cried because I did throw a drawing that was in A4, fully colored and it was winner for my local arts contest.
I actually have pretty severe depression and anxiety disorder since I was 13, Im 24 now and I've been drawing since 6 years old.I do have my psychologist, but since he isn't an artist he just tells me that I need to improve my self steem- I'm doing my exercises given by him but I would like any advice from a fellow artist(being writing, drawing, making music or any artsy stuff haha) since I think it would be more specific just for the art part (I will work on my other problems myself haha)
Well I don't want a solution of gold but anything would be appreciated.

[Zelan]

I'm sure you've heard the phrase "everyone is their own worst critic" (although for you this seems to be a particularly strong feeling).

For me, even if I'm not totally pleased with something, my thought is "if I don't ever show it to anyone no one will ever see it." So I pretty much just have to... get over myself and post it anyway. lmao.

It's easier said than done for sure, but often times you'll get a lot of encouragement and nice comments from people, which makes it easier to keep doing. (I posted my first VN on here when I was 17, and I can barely look at it without cringing now, but I got SO many nice comments on my completed games thread that I still go back and look at occasionally.)

Also: you said that you tend to like the lineart, but not the coloring and shading. Two thoughts for that. First, maybe it would help you to practice those specific skills. Not on a sprite or anything that you plan to use for the game, but just do some practice pieces with any techniques or tips that might make the coloring and shading look closer to how they should look in your head. Not every piece has to be this huge big finished masterpiece - practice pieces that never see the light of day will help you to hone your skills too.

Alternatively, there's some VNs with interesting art styles out there. Maybe you could try an art style or direction with a limited palette, flat colors, minimal shading, any combination of those things which will bring out what you're confident in and minimize what you're not.

Best of luck to you and I hope to see some of your art soon! (:

[CatPalismia]

Tip that worked with me is "fake it till you make it". I was insecure about my art in my early teen years and would apologize for it not being good. I was worried that people thought I was proud of my "bad" art, so I tried to always make excuses for it. However, if I can't respect my art, nobody else is able to do that either. I would disrespect those who actually think that the art I produce is good or even passable. What good would it do if the creator itself bashes their work?

Over the time I learned to leave out the apologetic words when I would post my art. I wasn't proud of my work nor did I genuinely even think my art was good, but nobody else needed to know that. Posting things without any negative comments does not make art any better, but at least it receives the respect it deserves. Even if looking at my art causes a wave of cringe and dislike wash over, I just try to live with that uncomfortable feeling and let things be.

It's also important to remember that you are being kind to yourself when you let your work be. Self-confidence doesn't magically appear by not destroying own work and not bashing it, but at least I don't make myself feel awful in a long run. I build up tolerance towards my own art by letting it just exist, hence I start to think the thought of "maybe the things I create aren't that awful".

I can speak only from my personal experiences and this way of thinking does not work with everyone: it's pretty much just brute-forcing through. Hopefully you can find your own way dealing with this and hopefully we get to see the work you produce!

[nattoari]

I'm sure you've heard the phrase "everyone is their own worst critic" (although for you this seems to be a particularly strong feeling).

For me, even if I'm not totally pleased with something, my thought is "if I don't ever show it to anyone no one will ever see it." So I pretty much just have to... get over myself and post it anyway. lmao.

It's easier said than done for sure, but often times you'll get a lot of encouragement and nice comments from people, which makes it easier to keep doing. (I posted my first VN on here when I was 17, and I can barely look at it without cringing now, but I got SO many nice comments on my completed games thread that I still go back and look at occasionally.)

Also: you said that you tend to like the lineart, but not the coloring and shading. Two thoughts for that. First, maybe it would help you to practice those specific skills. Not on a sprite or anything that you plan to use for the game, but just do some practice pieces with any techniques or tips that might make the coloring and shading look closer to how they should look in your head. Not every piece has to be this huge big finished masterpiece - practice pieces that never see the light of day will help you to hone your skills too.

Alternatively, there's some VNs with interesting art styles out there. Maybe you could try an art style or direction with a limited palette, flat colors, minimal shading, any combination of those things which will bring out what you're confident in and minimize what you're not.

Best of luck to you and I hope to see some of your art soon! (:

Thank you! Actually, I was planning to do chibi designs first, so I will take your advice and with the chibi lineart practice some different ways of colouring. It's true that I always did black and white drawings with shading-like in manga comics- and maybe I got used seeing my charachters like that. Maybe I'll post the chibi art later, which I had a pretty bad time doing(took me a whole day without sleeping to finish the sketch-cause my stubborn self was just thinking that it was impossible I couldn't finish a freakin'' simple chibi in one day haha)
Lets see if trying some different way of colouring and shading will prove useful... and yes, I will try to post something here. It actually took me a lot of courage to simply asking this, so maybe uploading some finished art will not be such a bad time for me!
Thanks again

[nattoari]

Tip that worked with me is "fake it till you make it". I was insecure about my art in my early teen years and would apologize for it not being good. I was worried that people thought I was proud of my "bad" art, so I tried to always make excuses for it. However, if I can't respect my art, nobody else is able to do that either. I would disrespect those who actually think that the art I produce is good or even passable. What good would it do if the creator itself bashes their work?

Over the time I learned to leave out the apologetic words when I would post my art. I wasn't proud of my work nor did I genuinely even think my art was good, but nobody else needed to know that. Posting things without any negative comments does not make art any better, but at least it receives the respect it deserves. Even if looking at my art causes a wave of cringe and dislike wash over, I just try to live with that uncomfortable feeling and let things be.

It's also important to remember that you are being kind to yourself when you let your work be. Self-confidence doesn't magically appear by not destroying own work and not bashing it, but at least I don't make myself feel awful in a long run. I build up tolerance towards my own art by letting it just exist, hence I start to think the thought of "maybe the things I create aren't that awful".

I can speak only from my personal experiences and this way of thinking does not work with everyone: it's pretty much just brute-forcing through. Hopefully you can find your own way dealing with this and hopefully we get to see the work you produce!

Yeah, I feel you. Im trying to stop with the negative words or thoughts too, since they actually can alter the way other see something you do. Apparently telling someone ''im not good'' or ''sorry if its strange'' before showing your art it makes it look worse haha. It's hard tho. Maybe posting it on internet makes it easier for me since I feel much more comfortable socializing in the net
I'll leave out apologetic words, too... I think it is important and it does alter the way other see it. Thank you so much

[RizVN]

When I start sketching I'm on good spirits and I actually like when the lineart is done.

Relatable.
When I first begin a project, I also tend to be in good spirits. Because it's fun, and I have very low expectations about the result.

Then I start getting stuck, first with coloring and shading, and then, when I think my sprite or anything I did is completed, I just look at it and hate it.

Then in the middle, I start expecting results. I want this art to be good, I want people to like it, for it to sell well, and so on.
The more I expect results, the easier it is for me to get stuck. And the harder it is to finish the art, let alone for me to be satisfied with the end result.

But regardless of whether I am satisfied with the art or not, I release it anyway. Then I found that someone out there would definitely like it. I also found feedback on how to create better art on my next try. And by the way, years after I've improved, I would be embarrassed by my past art when I look at them. Even if they give better results. I think this feeling is normal and is not a problem at all, so I accept it.

I know it's been 1 year since you made this post, I hope you are doing well and have resolved your problem.
But I have 2 advice that might be useful:

1. Do not expect any result, just focus on creating your art.
2. Show your work, in public.

If you can't show your finished art, simply show the sketches, the rough outlines, the ideas, or whatever, really.
I don't know about you, but I create art not only for myself to enjoy but also for others. So let people find your work.

[umbrores]

Hey! Something that helped for my own self-esteem was to compare newer art to old art. I have been doing digital art since begin 2019 and have been making 'art summaries' by picking my favorite drawing of each month and throwing them together in an image per year. I am way less harsh on myself when I can see that I gradually get better at art.

I also consider the artists that I look up to, and how long they took to be where they are right now. It took a friend of mine whose art I love over 12 years to get to where they currently are. Like, I have only been doing art seriously since 2017 or so... To me that feels like a goal I'm able to reach. Like, I'm already kind of happy with my art nowadays even if I know I struggle with certain parts, but there's 5 ENTIRE years left before I've been doing it as long as my friend has at this point! There is so much more I can learn and improve on in that time, to become as good as they are! It helps me keep my expectations on a healthy level.

Then, for VN-related art; I like to think about one of my personal favorite Visual Novel series, Higurashi. I don't really think it's wrong of me to say that the original art could use some work, and later on the sprites have been re-done by other artist: but only AFTER the series became incredibly popular! People loved it, and they could happily look beyond the beginner-level art to enjoy the story, the atmosphere and all else Higurashi had to offer. So even if your art isn't a big hit with people, that's not going to be the end of your VN-creating career. You'll find people who love what you do regardless of what level your art is at. And honestly- the OG Higurashi sprites have a certain charm to them too. There's never going to be art out there that absolutely no person on earth likes.