Why MY art sucks, and so does yours.

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[goose]

Ergo: “why your art sucks”

Me: it’s true but you don’t have to be so rude about it

[syrusangi]

Ergojosh: you probably feel the same way
Me: *tearing sketch book pages* I don't know what ur talking about

[sarroora]

For me, it was an intentional decision to *stop* paying attention to the ages of artists I follow and look up to.
I realized that the whole age-in-relation-to-skill thing was causing me a lot of anxiety and feelings of failure.
Now I just look at their work for inspiration, and then the only person I compare myself to is myself from yesterday.

[emilsdr]

Art is definitely a very patient process to get really good and recognized (but even then you're not satisfied) :P

[aeryelle]

"You're only going to be happy with about 10% of your artwork, and that's normal". Yes! As artists, we're perfectionists. It's natural to be self critical.

[calebbach]

“You’re only going to be happy with about 10% of your artwork”.

Well, I guess I’ll start drawing 10x as much as a normallly do 😂

[simreaper]

It took me years to get to a point where i was actually mentally and emotionally ready to focus on art, and I feel like people don't talk about that enough. Specifically, a change I have noticed is that instead of looking at someone like Josh and thinking "oh man his art is so good i could never do that" I now think "His art is so good and I could do that too" (with practice of course). I feel like that way of thinking will give you much more drive and help you fall in love with art more if you start believing that each piece helps you grow, even if it's minuscule, and that growth will never stop so long as you don't give up. Just enjoy it and relax in the meantime, and one day your art will be amazing too.

[funnytime]

I think there is a healthy dose of “disliking” your own work. You need to be a little critical of yourself to improve. I think you need to try to get specific though about what you’re not liking in your work to really benefit.

If you think all your work is great then you are never motivated to improve.

[essentiallyleon]

Recently I've caught myself in a loophole, where I constantly do studies and take notes and practice which I enjoy but only to an extent. What I truly enjoy most is the feeling of when I draw one of my own characters from memory, nothing else makes me as happy. Yet when I do, all I ever see are the mistakes and the flaws and it makes it so hard to enjoy my creation. I want to improve so bad, but it comes at the cost of enjoying art as a way to unleash creativity and more about studying, it becomes like a chore. I have the motivation and the drive, but I just wish I could truly be happy with my work again. People say art should be made with the intention of pleasing yourself, but recently that just hasn't been happening for me. I have no intention of giving up ever, not in a million years. But I do hope I can get through this phase sooner.

[EyeLean]

I've been an art teacher for quite a while now, and I can assure everybody that the ones who never worry about their art sucking are the ones whose art REALLY sucks, because they never feel impelled to make it better. And, hey, they're perfectly happy with it. Happier than any of the rest of us are with our own art, so what's the problem? Well, the problem of course is that while they're happy with their sucky art, nobody else is all that happy to look at it. Meanwhile, the artists who fret over their art sucking make art that others enjoy.

[werewooof]

really needed to listen to this right now. it feels so much easier to navigate artistic frustration when you’re being honest with yourself and sitting with your art, its potential and its flaws. reflecting on what drives you to create art in the first place helps you realize that the 10% is worth all the hard work and years you’ll spend improving. art is a neverending journey of exploring and experimenting and that should be a motivating aspect, not a discouraging one.

[damismith]

This hit home for me because im currently going through this situation where i feel like im not good enough. It got so bad that I stop drawing or making any type of art for almost a year now. I went down this dark path where my thoughts were just me thinking that i have nothing to strive for so theres no reason for me to keep going in life if that makes sense. I had this feeling of me living worthless now because was the only thing i did when i was young and to feel like this now at the age of 25 i just dont know anymore.
I recently deleted all of my art posts off my Instagram and during my time on Instagram i felt some inspiration come to me. I get this small urge now again to create something and im pretty happy i found this feeling again. I cant wait to create my vision and post it not caring as much anymore forcing myself having to post something that i dont really like.

[abistorey]

Me getting offended by the title

Also me: no, no he’s got a point

[monkey-peof]

Some time ago i really didnt like my art so stopped drawing for months, then i started drawing again, i did that 100 faces challenge (excpet i did in 20 days to be easier on myself) i tried to be easy on myself and not beat myself up if i didnt like what i did. it ended up quite good and im still very proud of those drawings. Not beating myself up helped me do better art. Im still not that confident about my art but sketching often helps a lot so i try to do that if i feel demotivated. Taking breaks sometimes is also very important. Sorry this is such a long comment I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS YOU GIVE SUCH GOOD ADVICE <333

[leiasart]

Just saw that "advise of an old man" video before this. Interesting coincidence :D
And also I don't know if this means something, but I'm really glad you made that choice for yourself and your art. I love the artworks you made prints of. They're so creative and have a lot of character, which I feel like is the best thing to achieve as an artist :D Looking forwart to lots n lots more ergoart!

[shelbyhiromi]

Thinking about that "if i spend ten years devoting myself to this, how far could I get?" gives me a lot of motivation. That change in perspectives makes me really excited about my potential. I wanna draw and learn!!

[lachimolalacarbonara]

I really needed this right now. A few days ago I started like my fifth art Instagram account after deleting all the other ones because they never got more that 30 followers. I think I had all the wrong mindsets when I started those accounts. Now, I've improved a lot and I'm much more confident. This time, I'm going to focus to make great pieces and push through, and hopefully break through that 30 followers milestone. I want more than anything a community to talk to about art and share my thoughts and characters and art. I hope I can reach that goal.

[corwin]

“95% of artists detest what they make, and the other 5% are lying” ~ Yahtzee Croshaw

[jetstar]

The thing is.. my friends/family know me for making a specific art style.. and I continue to make it.. the thing is I'm never happy.. What I love is sorta cartoony and simplified.. This vid helps quite a bit actually

[evlulm]

Have been drawing with pencil for most of my life, u till I immigrated from Zimbabwe to the UK in 2009. Then discovered digital art. So got a xp-pen tablet, and have been uping my game, not too bad with landscapes, but would love to know how to create my own character like Ross draw, whom is another digital artist I have been following on YouTube. Both of you have been inspiring me with your YouTube videos. Keep up the good work, look forward to more in the future Josh.