@thepatriotartist's post on Artfol
Question for all Artists, What is the thing you struggled with most that was because of art? (anything: getting supplies, learning anatomy, shading, friends, self-confidence, etc etc.) And did you overcome it? how?
Personally, the thing I struggled with (and still do) is self-confidence, I'm working it and its gotten a bit better. It also helped me with my self worth, not as an artist. so that's always a nice plusAug 26, 2023
Personally, the thing I struggled with (and still do) is self-confidence, I'm working it and its gotten a bit better. It also helped me with my self worth, not as an artist. so that's always a nice plusAug 26, 2023
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Art was tied to coping for me. As I got better mentally, just drawing would/can put me into a depressive state, like I was/am in danger. With therapy I've taken time to come back to art and make time for it, not just when I'm trying to escape. The lows are low, and it's not the fault of art, it's just the way the brain ties all things together sometimes.
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eugh mostly self confidence because i’m not an approachable person so i don’t ever really get art feedback
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Perfectionism. Between people's high expectations of my work IRL and my own desire for my stuff to be "not embarrassing" I deal with compulsive pixel-hunting and constant redrawing, both of which are such time sinks that it contributes greatly to the insane amount of time it takes me to finish anything.
I'm getting better with it, but very slowly.
I'm getting better with it, but very slowly.
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Posting it. 
i have hundreds of post worthy artworks, i want to talk to people about them and have been wanting to build an audience for years.
But what do i not do? Post them. Because I HATE the necessary editing process.
i have hundreds of post worthy artworks, i want to talk to people about them and have been wanting to build an audience for years. But what do i not do? Post them. Because I HATE the necessary editing process.
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I fail to put any value into it. And unless something absolutely profound happens, I don't see myself putting value on it.
I don't have confidence issues. I think what I make is very good. I just don't think it is worth anything because it's just a digital picture with a bunch of lines. Anyone can make that. So it's honestly worth less than a dead bug.
I don't have confidence issues. I think what I make is very good. I just don't think it is worth anything because it's just a digital picture with a bunch of lines. Anyone can make that. So it's honestly worth less than a dead bug.
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Ah mostly just a lack of time. Was doing a research job and a full time college course load which really bodied the amount of hours I could do anything. Like I started off pretty well and once the hard classes started coming theres a steep downhill turn in quality. My brain was gone.
Also would be lying if self confidence wasn’t an issue. It’s honestly so comedic of how little interaction, if any, I get that I really just have zero expectations these days. Like legit it’s more likely that I’ll be some random god tier level artist before I breach a hundred followers on any platform.
Also would be lying if self confidence wasn’t an issue. It’s honestly so comedic of how little interaction, if any, I get that I really just have zero expectations these days. Like legit it’s more likely that I’ll be some random god tier level artist before I breach a hundred followers on any platform.
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My self-esteem, for sure. Growing up in a country where art isn’t the most valued thing and that I hardly see anybody in my country online sharing the same interest as me, I felt like the weird outcast 
I tried to fit in mostly by hiding away my insane love for OCs and creating my own storyline because nobody here was really into that, it’s all maths and sciences and whatnot and barely anything about the arts
This in turn affected my confidence in my art because I thought that whatever I drew was strange because “Creating your own characters is not normal” was a mindset I unintentionally adopted and only got over at the age of 13. But my confidence my art was still pretty bad because I’ve spent years deprecating my own works no matter how much effort I put into it, I also had the one common bad habit many of us artists had of comparing them insulting myself for “being so bad compared to xxx”
It was only recently about a year or two ago when I realised how badly I emotionally hurt myself, I am my own enemy, my worst critic, and I realised that I shouldn’t be setting such unrealistic standards on myself when I know that I am constantly improving in art and whatever I draw is a reflection of my progress
I’m still developing my series now and I still love my OCs dearly, and talking to other people online have really helped me adopt a healthier mindset and I’ve learned to love myself more :)
I tried to fit in mostly by hiding away my insane love for OCs and creating my own storyline because nobody here was really into that, it’s all maths and sciences and whatnot and barely anything about the arts
This in turn affected my confidence in my art because I thought that whatever I drew was strange because “Creating your own characters is not normal” was a mindset I unintentionally adopted and only got over at the age of 13. But my confidence my art was still pretty bad because I’ve spent years deprecating my own works no matter how much effort I put into it, I also had the one common bad habit many of us artists had of comparing them insulting myself for “being so bad compared to xxx”
It was only recently about a year or two ago when I realised how badly I emotionally hurt myself, I am my own enemy, my worst critic, and I realised that I shouldn’t be setting such unrealistic standards on myself when I know that I am constantly improving in art and whatever I draw is a reflection of my progress
I’m still developing my series now and I still love my OCs dearly, and talking to other people online have really helped me adopt a healthier mindset and I’ve learned to love myself more :)
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i think it's mostly self worth. back then i used to rate my art based on how much attention it got from social media. i practically do art for the attention and would do anything to get my art seen.
but ever since reels and tik tok, my art has gotten less and less attention. It was devastating to me when i saw that my art wasn't doing so well on social media. i started to draw less and to the point of not wanting to draw.
But after a while, I started to not care. who cares how many people see my art, I make art for my own enjoyment. I make art because i want to tell a story through my ocs and my illustrations. that's why now i always tell people, especially young artists, not to chase engagement on social media. it's really bad for your own self worth and mental health. your art may not do well on social media, but it doesn't mean it's bad
but ever since reels and tik tok, my art has gotten less and less attention. It was devastating to me when i saw that my art wasn't doing so well on social media. i started to draw less and to the point of not wanting to draw.
But after a while, I started to not care. who cares how many people see my art, I make art for my own enjoyment. I make art because i want to tell a story through my ocs and my illustrations. that's why now i always tell people, especially young artists, not to chase engagement on social media. it's really bad for your own self worth and mental health. your art may not do well on social media, but it doesn't mean it's bad
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Getting books about art. The libraries in my region don't focus on art so they don't have many. It look for them mostly online but there are a lot I don't find. And they are often quite old, not sold in bookshops anymore, or anyway the bookshops here don't focus on art topics so usually they don't have much either
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I really had to think about it but honestly?? Taking care of myself and listening to my body. I'm a very impatient stuborn person with way too many ideas who struggles with switching tasks. Sometimes I spend too much time drawing and my wrist or my neck (usually the wrist) will start to hurt and I just. Don't stop anyway?? Once I overworked myself so much that I spent multiple days unable to hold a pencil because of the pain. I'm still working on improving my technique so I won't hurt myself, but it's a strugle :') and I'm trying to make a conscious effort to realise when I'm in pain and what I have to do to improve. But it's being quite a journey :'D
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Leaving my comfort zones. Like, I do it, but its at a snails pace. I feel like while I have greatly improved in certain areas, others I have stagnated. And I just…don´t have the motivation to practice getting better at what I´m bad at drawing. Its like my brain tells me its a waste of time even though I know its not true.
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I think art is the first semi-professional skill and discipline that I ever had. It has given me a lot of confidence and experience, and I'm pretty knowledgeable now. But even still, I'm not a professional
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Friends for sure. Art is pretty much the only topic I can talk about with people cuz I got so used to masking everything about myself that I don't even know who I am anymore aside from an artist. And of course self confidence.
I'd say I got better with my self confidence. Tho I still have very down days on rare occasions. As for friends, I'm a very lonely person anyway, so having just friendly co-workers is fine by me. At least they treat my art hobby better than others did before, so... I guess that's also a check
I'd say I got better with my self confidence. Tho I still have very down days on rare occasions. As for friends, I'm a very lonely person anyway, so having just friendly co-workers is fine by me. At least they treat my art hobby better than others did before, so... I guess that's also a check
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Self-worth
It’s def social media fault, but I’m doing art for a living and a following would be a big deal for me rn tbh.
Everyone else has gotten a thousand followers easily everywhere I go while I only managed to break 500 on IG after 5 years.
I know a stupid number shouldn’t be an indicator of my own worth as an artist and my work’s value, but man every other hour it feels like nobody’s seeing my shit
It’s def social media fault, but I’m doing art for a living and a following would be a big deal for me rn tbh.
Everyone else has gotten a thousand followers easily everywhere I go while I only managed to break 500 on IG after 5 years.
I know a stupid number shouldn’t be an indicator of my own worth as an artist and my work’s value, but man every other hour it feels like nobody’s seeing my shit
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Indefinitely struggled a little with self confidence, but I have overcome it. I felt like my art was never good enough and looked awful but I improved so much the last 2 years that I am at a point where I can say, that I am truly proud and happy with my art. Anatomy is still a struggle and always has been, but im working on that as well
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Motivation and artblock...and I haven't overcame it yet...I just find it it's easier to just start a drawing even if I feel unmotivated or I have no confidence I still try my best to empty my mind and just start!
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For me, it's discerning values as well as pinpointing which area on the drawing needs to have more shadows and which one needs lighting. I only got the hang of the basic part so far (shade the corners darker, luminate the areas visible to light source) but I still can't figure out how other artists do it in a more complex and detailed manner.
Anatomy, I'm still 50/50 on that 'cuz some days it looks logical while some days, idek what I came up with lol. And speaking of anatomy, my wrist hurts as hell these days too, so that makes it harder to go on an art grind
I understand the thing with self–confidence and I too began to improve my mindset about it. Glad to know it's getting better for you. Even that makes a difference in what we do and how we proceed with art!
Anatomy, I'm still 50/50 on that 'cuz some days it looks logical while some days, idek what I came up with lol. And speaking of anatomy, my wrist hurts as hell these days too, so that makes it harder to go on an art grind
I understand the thing with self–confidence and I too began to improve my mindset about it. Glad to know it's getting better for you. Even that makes a difference in what we do and how we proceed with art!
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