The BIGGEST reason why your art is not Improving

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this month we will have a lesson about how to create a digital composition in Photoshop!

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[victoriavidaud]

You may not like it, but I do still like your sketch piece too XD I think there’s still merit to “plain” pieces, sometimes it’s nice to see something simple to give the eyes a break. Your other piece is fantastic, no doubt, but it’s a little difficult to take in all at once. I think it may be nice if you revisited your simple mermaid, maybe? Show what the quick sketch is versus a more thought out one of the same basic idea?

[codsamanta]

I kinda needed to hear this. I see people posting faster and faster sketches so I was beginning to feel down because I spend usually 2-4h on a sketch and then another 4-8 in the actual painting on average. I sometimes feel like it takes me so long because I am very bad at it. I've also been scolded by an art teacher for focusing too much on details (which are my favorite part). She kept saying watercolor paintings are meant to be loose and flowy without many details. But your video reminded me that good art takes time and the only thing that matters is getting to a final result that you like. That means using a style you enjoy and taking all the time you need.

[anaperez]

Your "rushed" piece is, in my humble opinion, beautiful.

The second piece may be more striking because you took your time with it but, again, this is my opinion, the first piece is very good.

[valasafantastic]

It depends really. Well it matters how the artist feels. Still there’s something to be said for simple quick fresh art. Not everything needs to be huge and hyper detailed. Personally I love variety and prefer faster art and getting more done. Still taking time in important pieces is good for balance. How you feel matters most if it’s your time/effort and art! I feel like not every piece needs to be ‘your best’ or aim for being happy with it in a decade that’s more pressure/stressful to me personally than quick sketches daily. Having said that suicidal media has good and bad sides and must be used with caution. I mostly only use YouTube now as it doesn’t seem to cause me mental health issues.distress and often helps actually. But taking the pressure off having to plastic at least once a week as life does get in the way helped even more.

[disccarpt]

"We don't have to share everything we do" omg *thank you* for saying that!! So many people feel like everything has to be verified by their audiences, having someone say otherwise truly does help <3

[chariotsx]

I love how you’ve painted the cheeks. The rosy & shiny cheeks make this portrait even more stunning 🥰

[monotropa_uniflora]

I’m not that skilled so it’s worth taking my opinion with a grain of salt, but I feel this depends on your approach and what you define as ‘improvement’. Is improvement gaining more skill or the art looking better? Probably both. I’d say, simply taking adequate time to polish a piece will instantly make your art better. But overall improvement comes from challenging yourself and focussing on your weaknesses, that can be done in ‘quick’ works too. In fact, I’d argue you can improve faster when you practice the same thing again and again without paying too much attention on other details. For me it’s a balance, what is my goal?
Do I want to study? Then I will (try to) work fast and not loose myself in the work; gain skill faster but don’t have results that necessarily reflect I got ‘better’.
Do I want a beautiful result? Then I will take the time necessary to achieve it while knowing I won’t Improve as much because a lot of time is devoted to every area, even the ones I might already be confident in.
You can do a 30h piece and it will look great, but if you spend 15 hours of that on rendering, you will gain less skill in construction, composition etc. than doing 15 1h studies of your weak points. What I currently try to do is balance both, studies for my weaknesses and detailed works to enjoy when effort and skill come together and the work pays off.

It’s also important to note that speed is a sign of mastery over a subject. You will sometimes see people pop out stunning pieces of artwork in a day, but that didn’t happen over night. The speed they have now is the result of years and years of practice. Just think of some things that feel easier now than they used to. Speed comes with experience but only with things you are familiar with. Even those artists who can ‘sketch’ a detailed character from imagination in 10 minutes would take a lot longer if it was a subject they aren’t familiar with and they acquired this amazing skill by probably drawing certain subjects for decades. You can see it as their art still taking time - tens of thousands of hours that were invested over decades culminating in them breezing through some step that used to take them hours.

[ENUFbyMNT]

This is such an important topic. I started an art mentorship to help me improve. The first thing I learned from my instructor by watching is art takes time. Even the decision process takes time. Seeing that professionals even take time completley changed my perspective. I have always known things like speed paints were sped up but the pace of social media made me think oil paintings were made in a couple of hours. This caused me to be so hard on myself. Now that I have committed to not rushing the process I am so much happier. I’m also still proud of older ideas that I maybe could have taken more time on. So I may go back and give them a second try now that I understand they are worth my time. Even if it is not active time working on the piece but time to step away reflect and come back with fresh eyes.

Lovely painting by the way!

[claritzairosario]

Wow! You hit the nail! Sometimes I feel frustrated when I see so many works of art published on social media that you think you've been left behind. I have decided not to spend so much time in them. I loved your advice! It's totally true! It is much better that you concentrate on your art work, and be less aware of social media, because sometimes they overwhelm us! Thank you!!! And wow! Excellent work❤️🥰🏆

[PsycheTrance]

I don't post my artwork online but I am still impatient all the same. This is video is another reminder for me to stop rushing my pieces though ❤

[fuzzydragons]

that is so pretty! social media is a good thing and a bad thing, can get your art seen by people all over the world, but there is so much stress to try to 'beat' the algorithm and post something everyday, which is not healthy

[CC-jyel]

I really needed to hear this. Thank you. Sometimes I get annoyed or frustrated with a piece and just want to give up and call it finished. This video encouraged me to go back and put more work into a piece I was upset about. Thanks!

[queen_chrry]

This video just popped onto my feed, and it's like it was destined for me. For the past several years, I have pursued the "fickle mistress" of social media when posting my art. I read up on algorithms, trends, and how to draw organic traffic to my page. Looking back now, I don't know how I didn't fall into a depressive hole earlier. In spite of all this, I still lost followers, and even worse, I found people stealing my most popular pieces so they could get their own instant gratification. I've drifted away slowly but surely from Instagram and the most demanding social platforms that want to squeeze blood from the artistic turnip; you do not post daily/weekly, they leave! It was a hard road, but I came to the decision I don't deserve to feel this way. Like a machine who can make amazing content at the snap of a finger, and if it bombs online, I am a failure as a person.

A very dear friend has come to my aid and with her sensibility, I have thrown away the "social media shackles" that imprisoned me for so long, and coincidentally, I am making the best art I have in years. I am getting comments that are impactful. I'm not attracting hundreds of likes, but it's like for the first time, I'm seen for who I am. Quality vs. quantity cannot be stressed enough.

Don't give up your heart and lose your artistic soul in pursuit of massive likes and explosive follower growth, fellow creators. You will feel so much more redeemed learning from what this video tells you <3

[nothanks]

Thank you. I have fallen into this problem and convinced myself I should be able to finish an art piece within hours. I really needed to hear this.

[eternal_seokjin]

I am a digital artist, not only what you said is true, but also the fact that I envied people who could come up with a finished colored digital work in just 1-2 hours, my sketches alone take 3 hours, this not only made me impatient, but hate my own art as well.

[TribalAngel]

Thank you! I also had “social media burnout”… stopped posting online a couple of months ago. Now people are saying that if you want a following on Tiktok you have to make 7-10 videos a day 🙄 it’s just a big headache

[madamschie]

I agree with a lot of things you are mentioning however time spend ≠ good art!! You CAN make a good piece of art within a few hours. It depends on the execution, the skill, the idea, the size, the media, etc... good art does not have to be only pieces that you worked on for days or weeks or even months!

[cthulhuschild]

Tolles Video!! Und ein sehr wichtiger Punkt. Vorallem der Druck, dass alles nicht nur schnell gemacht sein muss, sondern auch perfekt sein muss. Gerade dieser Druck, dass alle eh besser sind als ich hat mich vor einigen Jahren in eine richtige Kriese gebracht und ich mochte meine Bilder gar nicht mehr. Dann habe ich mich komplett von social media zurück gezogen und heute male und zeichne ich nur noch für mich selbst. Das ist ein sehr befreiendes Gefühl besonders weil ich mir jetzt die Zeit nehmen mich wirklich zu verbessern und dafür brauche ich viel Zeit. Gerade als Hobbykünstler mit nem full time job. Aber ich bin wieder an einem Punkt wo mir Kunst Spaß macht und ich meine Bilder wieder mag und das ist die Hauptsache ^^ und nicht die "Anerkennung" durch social media.

[pitamarisa]

I've noticed that it hinders me more, because I am so much on it that I do not have time to grow. lately I have been thinking of taking my time in my art and not be so consume in producing so many art pieces. Thank you so this valuable information and advice. I do desire to get better in art, so I will take your advice of spending less time on social media and more time on my crafts. Blessings!

[abundantwildflower]

Such a great video! I have been an artist long enough to remember what it was like before social media. I got commissions organically, through recommendations of existing clients. I didn't make a lot of art as each piece took a long time, but I enjoyed the process and made the sort of art I loved. It is so different now! Since becoming a mother I don't take commissions and I have the freedom to make whatever art I want, but my mindset has become so influenced by what I see on social media, and the fast pace, that my art has really suffered and I don't know what sort of art to really concentrate on anymore. You have really given me something to think about now and I feel its time to find the artist inside me once more. Thanks for sharing!