Why are some people quick to give up art?
- Thread starter Kopatropa
- Start date
Alpine
The best Renault
Some don't have the popularity they were expecting.
Some don't have the skills and the feel they won't improve.
Some have other occupations and don't have time for much.
I have seen a lot of the "I suck compared to so and so and there's no way I'm going to improve": although acknowledging that you are not as good as whomever, you shouldn't just give up because of that
Some don't have the skills and the feel they won't improve.
Some have other occupations and don't have time for much.
I have seen a lot of the "I suck compared to so and so and there's no way I'm going to improve": although acknowledging that you are not as good as whomever, you shouldn't just give up because of that
Caryatid
Καρυάτις,
Art, like anything, is something you need to decide if its worth it to yourself. Drawing and painting are extremely hard crafts to perfect and learn, and it takes a ton of practice and trying and failing to get on a decent level. I draw because its fun, and very enjoyable to me, but even more so than that I draw because I want to see an end result and be proud of it. There are times where i've worked on pictures that were absolutely hellish to work on but it was all worth it in the end for me, and i've done lots of pretty boring studies and sketches to help develop my sense of fundamentals beforehand. I'm still not perfect! And will probably never be; its a lifelong process, and trying to go into art specifically for the popularity usually ends up with burnout.
That being said!! It can be easy to burn out if one has been working too hard and it just doesn't feel worth it... maybe there are other pursuits that are more rewarding and enjoyable than art, and that's totally fine. As an artist myself it makes me sad when people decide to stop drawing, but that's their prerogative, not mine, and in the end its about what makes you more fulfilled/happy.
That being said!! It can be easy to burn out if one has been working too hard and it just doesn't feel worth it... maybe there are other pursuits that are more rewarding and enjoyable than art, and that's totally fine. As an artist myself it makes me sad when people decide to stop drawing, but that's their prerogative, not mine, and in the end its about what makes you more fulfilled/happy.
Revous
Active Member
Because being good at anything requires loads of practice, but most people are too lazy to properly practice and refine their results.
Then there's the two sub-groups, the "my art is good enough but yall don't see it" and the "I've read millions of tutorials online but I need someone to teach me".
Besides that, dropping art because you don't see results usually means you're not in for the art itself, but for the exposure/popularity. I don't judge, but drawing (to me and to many) is like eating or breathing, I just crave it. Nowadays I'm a full time commission artist, but before I'd just draw for myself all day long because it is what I love.
I could make a damn list of every "why can't I art/I'm quitting art" argument I've read here but I'm afraid people would hate me.
Disclaimer: I consider myself ~acceptable art tier~ because I can make pretty things and get paid, but it took me 6 years of "why can't I draw the other eye" every single day. I'm very far from being popufur/furgod tier but I train to git gud everyday.
Then there's the two sub-groups, the "my art is good enough but yall don't see it" and the "I've read millions of tutorials online but I need someone to teach me".
Besides that, dropping art because you don't see results usually means you're not in for the art itself, but for the exposure/popularity. I don't judge, but drawing (to me and to many) is like eating or breathing, I just crave it. Nowadays I'm a full time commission artist, but before I'd just draw for myself all day long because it is what I love.
I could make a damn list of every "why can't I art/I'm quitting art" argument I've read here but I'm afraid people would hate me.
Disclaimer: I consider myself ~acceptable art tier~ because I can make pretty things and get paid, but it took me 6 years of "why can't I draw the other eye" every single day. I'm very far from being popufur/furgod tier but I train to git gud everyday.
pidge
Member
Most people don't realize just how difficult drawing is until they attempt it themselves.
A lot of people, myself included, don't have the skill to draw as well as we would like to, even if we spend hours working on something, it can still come out looking like shit. And on top of that, there are plenty of artist who can draw far better with ease.
Personally, this is what drives me to improve my art, but for some this just discourages them and drawing isn't enjoyable for them. I like to challenge myself, but not everyone does, so I guess it's really more about personality type.
A lot of people, myself included, don't have the skill to draw as well as we would like to, even if we spend hours working on something, it can still come out looking like shit. And on top of that, there are plenty of artist who can draw far better with ease.
Personally, this is what drives me to improve my art, but for some this just discourages them and drawing isn't enjoyable for them. I like to challenge myself, but not everyone does, so I guess it's really more about personality type.
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Leoni Zheitk
Guest
This is the only way I can relate to this conversation:
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Amiir
Guest
I'm a decent artist yet being just ''decent'' isn't enough, and I'll stop the post here lest I make it emo
scet
Member
Why isn't it enough?
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Leoni Zheitk
Guest
Because not even the sky's limit can withstand some people that's why!
Why not be good when you can be better? Other than the obvious cost of time, effort, skill, and etc...
Diretooth
Dire Wolf and Dragon Therianthrope
It's because a lot of us are only decent, we have a period of vast improvements, then we plateau. I can say for certain that I've had exponential growth in my artwork, but have reached a spot where it's decent, you have an idea what's going on, but my anatomy's off, there's no sense of scale, backgrounds are crap, et cetera... It's easy to get discouraged when all of that amazing growth you've had just suddenly halts and you're let in this spot where you just can't seem to understand how to make yourself better. A lot of people then start to look for short cuts. Quick ways to becoming better, and their art suffers for it.
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Amiir
Guest
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Leoni Zheitk
Guest
@Diretooth
I can totally relate, sometimes I'll be drawing like Leonardo Da Vinci, and other times I'll draw pictures that make me question on why I even do a do.
I can totally relate, sometimes I'll be drawing like Leonardo Da Vinci, and other times I'll draw pictures that make me question on why I even do a do.
mechanicalrain
ugh
Art, like many things, is a skill not a talent... which means in order to be good at it, you have to practice and work the skill for a long time. Essentially, you're teaching your brain how to communicate with your hand to mimic images in your head- it's tough to do, and the general consensus with any skill like that is that it takes ten years of hardcore study and practice to be considered 'proficient' at it. Additionally, art is hard because it's SO personal... you're creating something from nothing based on passing thoughts, which means you have to pour a lot of yourself into it, and then if it doesn't turn out the way you want it to, it feels like a personal failing.
College, while not an absolute necessity, IS helpful. I got my BA in Media Arts In Animation, and those four years were hard, but they also let me network a lot and find a sense of common ground and community with other people going through the same things. I think people would be less inclined to give up on themselves if they had better support systems and friends on the same level. Try not to compare yourself to artists who come from different circumstances and you might perceive to be 'better' than you, because chances are they've gone through those same struggles. Instead, try to look back and see how much you've personally improved since you've started! You're always better than you were yesterday, don't give up!
College, while not an absolute necessity, IS helpful. I got my BA in Media Arts In Animation, and those four years were hard, but they also let me network a lot and find a sense of common ground and community with other people going through the same things. I think people would be less inclined to give up on themselves if they had better support systems and friends on the same level. Try not to compare yourself to artists who come from different circumstances and you might perceive to be 'better' than you, because chances are they've gone through those same struggles. Instead, try to look back and see how much you've personally improved since you've started! You're always better than you were yesterday, don't give up!
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Alex K
Guest
I can relate to this. Back in Saint Olif, work was the more smarter dezichen versus an education so naturaly my art skillz faded over the years along with several other classroom skillz
I wouldn say I give up tho. I still like to paint on my itablets occasionally and hang em up around my house but BOY is it expensive!
I wouldn say I give up tho. I still like to paint on my itablets occasionally and hang em up around my house but BOY is it expensive!
narutogod123
Void Mage
All I ever ask to people wanting to give up is "Do you have fun drawing? Do you feel like you can draw for yourself not for everyone else? Do you just want to be better at art because you love the process of creating it and you have something you want to convey? Do you have the drive to spend hours on studying the fundamentals and make it fun for yourself? Do you accept that learning to draw and paint takes years? Do you accept that there will always be someone better than you and you should only focus on your own work?"
If you say "No." to all these questions then art may not be for you. Art is hard to learn but if you don't enjoy creating then what's the point? Do you love creating or do you just like the idea that you will possibly make money? The money will come to you if you put the work into creating something you love.
If you say "No." to all these questions then art may not be for you. Art is hard to learn but if you don't enjoy creating then what's the point? Do you love creating or do you just like the idea that you will possibly make money? The money will come to you if you put the work into creating something you love.
Jax Cottontail
Well-Known Member
Because creating art and developing your own style is really f'n hard and can take years to develop. You have to spend the time practicing your skill just like everyone else. If you are not putting in the milage with your sketchbook you aren't going to magically get better.
If you are feeling discouraged and thinking of quitting consider this: You are exactly where you should be artistically based on the level of artwork you have completed. If you wanna get better keep drawing, keep studying the fundamentals and you will eventually get better.
If you are feeling discouraged and thinking of quitting consider this: You are exactly where you should be artistically based on the level of artwork you have completed. If you wanna get better keep drawing, keep studying the fundamentals and you will eventually get better.
Derpmander
New Member
For me personally, I just feel like I'll never improve. I've been trying to by watching tutorials, reading art books, etc, but nothing seems to stick, its like... once the tutorial ends, I forget it, and whatever "talent" or "experience" I had at the time disappears. I get demoralized easily thanks to this, and especially by the thought of not knowing if I'll ever improve thanks to it all being, from what I hear, a "time" element involving nothing but practice. I understand its important, but thanks to no sure fire way to improve, I can't help but think to myself that I could be wasting multiple months and years of my life, drawing things I could care less about, and make minimal progress, only to end up a step farther than what I was before, but with little satisfaction or true improvement. I would be just fine drawing characters that already existed, and put them in situations I personally would like to see, but even that seems to turn into a mess most of the time, with proportions being off, or ultimately, perspective going on its head.
The worst part about it is I genuinely can't shake off the desire to draw, it just keeps sneaking up on me, and ultimately, I give in and try, and of course, fail, so its a pretty brutal cycle... I can't speak for others and their reasons of giving up, but I know mine is just ultimately an epic fail of learning to learn, and seeing legitimate improvement.
The worst part about it is I genuinely can't shake off the desire to draw, it just keeps sneaking up on me, and ultimately, I give in and try, and of course, fail, so its a pretty brutal cycle... I can't speak for others and their reasons of giving up, but I know mine is just ultimately an epic fail of learning to learn, and seeing legitimate improvement.
Mobius
Mech pilot.
People are studying art wrong. Art's not an abstract form of personal expression that you can master by repeated experience. Every aspect of art can be reduced to calculated formulas : perspective, anatomy, lighting, material, etc. Even the folds in fabric can be visualized by tension points and their forces meeting in an intuitive interference pattern.
nerdbat
Green butt of reason
There may also be lack of time, lack of genuine desire, or other hobbies that get in the way (I know many designers and musicians who started as aspiring artists but shifted the focus on some point and didn't regret it - damn, I was one of them until I decided to return several years after 
). I think all of this should be mentioned, since they are quite common reasons for giving up on art, aside of just "because it's hard" or "they have low self-esteem to go forward".
). I think all of this should be mentioned, since they are quite common reasons for giving up on art, aside of just "because it's hard" or "they have low self-esteem to go forward".
nerdbat
Green butt of reason
Just keep doing it and searching for ways to improve on your artwork, pal. Both with guitar playing and drawing/animating, I spent several months making incomprehensible sounds and shitty scribbles, until one day I noticed that what I do is suddenly not that shitty anymore and relatively resembles actual songs and drawings. The primary thing is to "get the ball rolling" - if you're persistent and self-aware enough, it'll just come naturally one day, and learning from that point will be much simpler, since you'll already get the basics down and be competent enough to at least not be ashamed of yourself. In other words, bite the bullet and stay determined, it will worth the time spent on it.
Derpmander
New Member
I can only hope, and at least there's that to hold onto if anything.