Comparing yourself with other creators... How to overcome this?

[Rabbit]

I never have any problems when comparing myself to artists better and more popular than myself, because I feel like they give me something to strive for. And recently, a lot of artists I really admire and look up to have subscribed to my comic out of the blue, and told me they really like my stuff, which is super amazing to me!!! So I'm glad that I looked up to those people and read their stuff because it's thanks to that that their subs mean so much to me now.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I have a much harder time when I find myself comparing myself to people I don't think are as good as me, yet are more popular/ have more subs. It hasn't happened often, but every here and there I'll see comics on Tapastic that are just scribbled out, looks like they are only done in pencil, and the writing is hard to read and confusing, yet the comic has over a hundred subscribers. Every time I see one of these comics I get really confused about why this person managed to get so popular while I can't even manage to get over 40, and then I kinda start thinking my work is crap and I should just give up, because this person obviously didn't even try yet is still farther ahead than me. But, of course, I try to tell myself to stop thinking like that, because everyone deserves subs, even that person

[Aspie_Gamer]

Never EVER compare yourself with other people. I did that wayyy too much in the past and my art suffered as a result because I was too...well I wouldn't say depressed, more like I was in a bad self loathing mood that could last for weeks and thus no work on my comic Life of an Aspie would get done. Also as an aspie myself, trivial things that may not seem that big a deal to most everybody here are a big deal to me like why are my tones so noisy and therefore distracting when people scroll down while reading my comic? That's something that held me back from creating new pages sooner. Everyone else seems to be able to add tones without a problem so why is it just me? I thought I figured out why a few days ago, but my tones still keep coming out noisy whenever I upload new pages of LoaA. Its because of this that I'm just not going to bother getting to the root of why my tones look distracting and instead work on LoaA until I make enough money to pay someone to redo the tones for me.

tl;dr don't compare yourself to other people. Do what you do best. Leave the rest to others.

[PorcheJ]

These are all wonderful advices. I saw a video from Mark Crilley on "Comparing yourself to Others" (I believe it was called), and wanted to share this with you all.

I think it can be nerve wrecking and inspiring at the same time (despite on how you think).

But I believe that inspiration, motivation, and perseverance are key. We shouldn't let negativity cloud our judgement either. To surpass those popular and better comics, you gotta keep going on your comic and STRIVE to be better.

Another is way is to better yourself. Don't put yourself down. HE gave you the Gift of Art and HE did it for a reason. Be positive, work smarter, not harder; and be inspired and strong-willed.

[SpavVy]

Well, I'm not sure if it's just me but I don't look at other creators like that anymore, probably because I've finally reached a point where I'm confident in my art. Of course, there are still people out there way better than me but I don't think of how interior my work is to theirs, actually, I get really REALLY inspired when I see people better than me and I analyze their work and see what I can learn from it.

Whispwill the creator of Kings Folly, for example, inspires me whenever I watch her streams and I get the biggest urge to draw more of my comic or other illustrations even on my lazy days.

Just remember that the artists you feel inferior to worked really hard to get where they're at and you have to do the same. I had days when I would draw all day long until my hand would hurt, I even did this when I was around seven or eight years old and wouldn't even play outside with my friends.

[PorcheJ]

@Savannah Man... now that's inspiring. Yeah, I can understand where you're coming from too. It's mostly about being confident and motivated on making your comic worth reading. That's what I'm trying to do for Cryptic Yume. Jeff Smith, the creator of Bones, is a true inspiration. That's what made me want to create my own comic. Colorful and relatable characters with an epic and mysterious story.

But I feel that when you're younger, you strive to be something great in life. An artist, doctor, astronaut, even a president! These are the things we dream of as we grow older. And as long as we work and persevere for those dreams to come true, who knows?

Comparing yourself and putting yourself down isn't a good feeling. At all. But I believe that true inspiration helps you strive to be a better artist and person.

[CrispyGhee]

There's nothing wrong with looking at other creators and comparing yourself to them, I think, so long as you're able to separate your journey from theirs. I used to have crippling anxiety about it to the point that I would talk down about other peoples' stuff just to feel better about myself. Do not do this. If you have to rely on being negative to feel positive then life's going to get harder as your creative journey goes on.

I think my biggest achievement in this is learning to transform jealousy into admiration. Just remember that another person's work is not a reflection on your own, and even the people who are further along in their artistic journey almost certainly felt the same way you feel now about someone else. Being able to look at someone else's art, go "yeah, that's great!" and use it as either a source of inspiration or motivation makes life easier.

Of course getting to that point is really hard. I think a lot of it is like...when you're growing up and you identify yourself as an artist or whatever, that title becomes such a big part of who you are that it feels like a failure to your core self when you don't think you're as good as you would like to be yet. It's understandable! You're an artist, what you create is important to you! But realizing that it's about what you're creating and not about what others are creating is a good first step. You're walking your own path. Don't mind the people in front of you too much, you're all headed in similar directions. Don't think "I'm not there," think "I'm not there yet."

Also re: numbers and metrics, really really really do not worry about that. I remember being on deviantART and there was a huge thing about people pining for pageviews and it's really unhealthy trying to measure your success or your talent by numbers. Being noticed and getting those numbers has less to do with your actual ability and more to do with engaging your audience, marketing, and sometimes even just dumb luck. It should definitely not be used as some sort of quantification of your worthiness.

Just keep working hard, practice at a level of discomfort, strive to learn new things. It's hard being an artist! It takes a lot to even put things out there for people to see, so allow yourself some personal kudos

[PorcheJ]

@CrispyGhee True and admiring words, my friend. Thank you, Crispy. And this is worth remembering. Actually, everyone's advice here are worth remembering!

Someone once told me: Failing and trying again isn't failure. Quitting is failure.

[eleoza]

I think that nomatter how many readers a creator has they can still doubt themselves sometimes when they compare their work to others.
I also think the most important rule of creating a comic is to ask yourself this question: Am I doing this because I'm having fun with it? I think having fun doing what you do is the base. Also, when you're 'upset' with your latest page because it didn't turn out the way you want it, just promise yourself the next page will be better and you'll improve along the way.

[KSlinger]

Recognise your feelings, acknowledge them, accept them, move on.

It's fine to envy and it's fine to fret, but coming to a standstill because of those insecurities won't make those feelings go away. More over, punishing yourself or anyone else because you feel temporarily inadequate isn't fair to either of you.

You're human. No one is 100% confident all the time. It's okay to feel rubbish and doubt yourself- natural, even- but remind yourself that it's a cycle and it will pass. In the meantime, go do something that makes you happy. Indulge a little. You'll feel better when you come back later. 👍

[PotooGryphon]

For instance, you look at creators who have a majority of readers, but you only have 5 to 25 readers.

When I encounter this feeling, I don't channel it into 'I'm a failure', I channel it to 'I have more to learn'. That's when I kick into detective mode and try to spot things that they're doing (that I admire about them) and go after learning how to do it.

I've learned that beating myself up doesn't make things happen for me any quicker, it's not effective, STOP IT. It also make no sense to be angry at myself for not knowing how to do a thing [whatever it maybe that this other artist is excelling at].

Comparing yourself with other artists isn't logical, isn't practical, there is no good side to it unless you're doing it critically in which case you aren't beating yourself up, you're analyzing how to improve.

How can you not compare yourself to others and just do what you love?

All of us are not created in a vacuum nor do we come from the same backgrounds. Each person has learned art differently and has had different experiences. It makes no sense with that in mind, to take what another artist has over me personally. I can achieve certain milestone levels by simply learning and doing. Doubt and jealous will only sour the process and impede progress. Don't compare yourself with others.

TLDR- Don't compare yourself with others. Don't compare yourself with others. Don't compare yourself with others.

[Aloredd]

I'm not so much a creator as a reader (I have my own novel in progress but no comics) but I do know that a big part of it is realizing that no two people will have the same style. They might have similar styles, but not the same style. I'm subbed to 289 comics, and every creator has a different style (many of my series are by creators with multiple series, so obviously the style for those comics are going to be the same....)

It's perfectly alright to admire and want to draw like someone else, that's a part of life. The thing is realizing that no matter how hard you try, your art will never be the same as theirs. (random comparison time) It's kind of like handwriting in that regard. I think that many kids try to copy their parents' (or older siblings or teachers or etc) handwriting and rarely try to develop their own. In the course of trying to copy the other handwriting, they develop their own which is just as good. I know that I tried to copy my father's handwriting (and still wish that mine was a little more like his but meh) My mother has told me how similar our handwriting is, and upon looking closer I can see the similarities, but it is so much easier to see the differences....which leads me to another point (I'm rambling guys, sorry...it's 1 am for me)

If you can't help but compare your work to someone else's, look for the similarities instead of the differences. It will make you feel better about your work, I can all but guarantee it.

I'm going to go to bed now...let's see how much sense this actually makes when I read it again tomorrow XD

[zelkats]

I noticed that people generally seem fine with comparing their own art with art by seniors and big names who have been at it for years because they aspire to be like them some time in the future. But when it comes to people close to their age or younger who appear better at drawing, that's when some people fall into this spiral of self doubt. Thoughts like "Am I not doing enough?" and "I've been drawing as long as the other person. Am I simply not good at it?" may pop up.

I can't exactly tell anyone to stop comparing themselves to others because that's a very hard thing to do to some, and everyone is wired differently. Comparing is a pretty natural thing we do whether we realise it or not -- it's part of our learning process.

What to do then? Well, if it ends up crippling your progress, try to avoid looking at the other creator's work completely but temporarily (until you feel confident again). Instead, look at other works of art (doesn't matter what media it is) that have different styles as yours so it's not easy for you to compare your work with. Who knows, those might be a good influence to your art.

[tzuba12]

It's hard but all you need to do is look at your art from a few years ago, and then look at your art today. The only thing that matters is the progress YOU'VE made as an artist. Whenever I am feeling like my art isn't good, or that I'm stagnating, I just look at something just from the previous year and I can tell I've improved.

People grow differently. Your experience is completely different from anyone elses. You WILL get there. You just have to keep striving to improve. Look at their art and instead of saying "I'll never be that good" say "I WILL be that amazing some day and I WILL surpass them". Its great motivation. Let them motivate you to do better.

[LCT_m_a_d]

I never wanted to become a comic artist until a year ago. I was just a dead-end artist living a content life and a 8-5 job. Until I had a story in my mind I wish someone would tell. Then I realized, I have the time and negligible artistic skills to visually tell it myself. The truth is knowing my specific and unique reason for wanted to create a comic and valuing it has become the driving force behind improving and making comic art as opposed to achieving a dream that's already been sold.

[PorcheJ]

These are all wonderful advice. Thank you guys for sharing. I hope that future artists understand that we are all unique in our own way. Everyone has a different gift. As long as we stay positive and learn more, I believe that anything is possible.

[stevenalvarez1366]

You just have to go at your own pace, this is your comic and we have over billions of people in the world. Not every single one is going to like it, but just as many people would dislike your work. The other half are going to praise it, enjoy it and want more. Looking at other people stories should be your attempt to see what they do right, but not to copy them. If you feel your work is beneath what you want it to be, there will only be self conflict.

Just keep moving forward with your story, make it the way you envision and never stop to change it just because someone wants to see something different.

Personally I look through other comics because I enjoy the tale they spin, but I want to do better then them. No matter how many people say it's the best comic/story/etc. I want to write an even better tale, a challenge brings out the best in the person is what I believe. So it's how I usually overcome this with a good old fist Fight!

[Damatris]

When ever I start to compare myself with other people I remind myself that I have no idea how long they have been drawing / making comics. With more practice product is obviously going to get better. Seriously, sometimes I go all "Oh...!" when I read a post and realize they have been making comics longer than I've been alive. That is quite a bit more experience than my about 2 ½ years. Besides, checking out my old pages sure reminds me that I've progressed a lot since the start and will continue to do so.

Another thing is that most of the time I look other people's work as goals / ways to learn and improve myself or simply as a fan. If someone has amazing way to compose panels or use colors I try to figure out what makes me like it so much and then try to combine it with my own style. Sometimes it works, sometimes I realize that it's not what I'm after. But it makes me learn new things.

[timinabox24]

I'm not worried about comparing myself to others, I'm worried because I know everyone else will compare me to others

[GesuGesu]

I just don't. I don't read other people's comics except the first one that lured me to Tap, and my friend's comic.

The first one is simply popular because it's long-running and an early comic. It's relatable and I don't feel jealous towards it.

My friend's comic is definitely 5 times more popular than my own comic, but just the same, she started hers way before I started, and she's much more sociable online so she gets subs from friendly shoutouts in other comics.

I only pay attention to my own comic's popularity, so I don't really know or care about other comics on Tapastic.

[Aspie_Gamer]

I just focus on doing my own thing. Comparing yourself to others just weighs you down in the long run. Instead of wishing you had more subs like your friend does, do something about it so that you have more subs. Providing updates even once a week is a good start as any. Mingling with other creators even new ones who don't have that good of art skills definitely helps as I've been told my art for my comic Life of an Aspie isn't particularly good by any stretch, but I've found especially back when I barely had any subs a few months ago is that subbing to a series that you see is struggling to get recognition often gives the creator of said series that boost they may need to their self esteem and encourage them to put out more comics and if you yourself are in the same boat, they may return the favor.

Of course, don't sub to random series just to do it. Commenting and liking on a person's work, Engaging them in a conversation shows you aren't just a bot behind a computer screen.