Dealing with art envy?

[J.Z.Castillo]

It depends, sometimes it just really discourages me and some other times it inspires me to be better. Lately I have been dealing with it more positively, studying styles and seeing how I can bring some of those elements to my own art.

If I find someone I like I will definitely follow them and if I can get a couple prints or illustrations from them so I can study. I rarely get envious anymore, I just get.... competitive? Inside my own head, of course! I am always trying to improve myself further, by following the example of others without losing my personal vision.

[antibenz]

I keep a folder of art I love for inspiration. I use it as a jumping off point for doodling. Sometimes I try to imitate it, other times I want to see what my spin on it will be. Truth be told though, I'm streets behind them, but I feel like it motivates me to experiment and exit my comfort zone.

[mintycanoodles]

I get it real bad, and when I do try to identify what it is about their art I like and figure out how to do it myself.

I used to get it a lot worse, before I really knew how I wanted my art to look. I'd try to imitate every good artist I saw, but now I sort them into categories: art I like but not what I'm going for, and art I want to learn from.

I don't think art envy has to be a totally bad thing

[Greg_Dickson]

I think that watching a video like this may be something you will need. It's an art talk with an experienced artist regarding this exact topic, and he really put things into perspective for me. I don't want to give a summary of what he says, because it's how he tells his stories that really makes things make sense. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhQ1V2EpeuQ. I checked this out a month or two ago, and I felt much better about my own art. I'm still not the best out there, but I realize that we all aspire to be something more, but what many of us don't realize, is that there are many artists out there who will look at our art and feel the same way, as hard as it is to believe.

[WakaXO]

Whenever I feel that sort of negative art-envy mood coming on I remind myself that the artist in question probably had to work really hard to get where they are, so instead of moping I should work harder. So I guess I try to turn my frustration into motivation, doesn't work all the time but for the most part its how I deal.

[arbanims]

I don't really get jelous or envious due to what "good" are is, is really subjective.

[El_Psy_Congroo]

I do feel envy from time to time but I've never really believed in talent - just the 10000 hours rule. If you put the hours into something you will inevitably get better at it. So when I see people in high school do stuff more amazing than I can do now, I always keep in mind that despite "how long" I've been drawing, the actual amount of hours I drew was considerably less because it was always just a hobby for me. Another thing is activly learning to get better. In other words, make those 10000 hours meaningful. Just to get my webcomic up and running this past year has forced me to learn a lot about aspects of art I had avoided because they were boring. My technique has since improved exponentially.

[AnnaLandin]

How do y'all deal with being jealous of other people's artist skills? Does it motivate you to improve, or does it sap our your energy?

Well, the first step is "try not to be jealous" - which is a big step, and really hard, and it took me a long time to get there, but it's important. Other people's accomplishment and skills do not diminish your own. Wherever you are in your artistic development, you should be proud of yourself. You're making things! That's a hell of a lot more than most people ever do!

And I do try to use other people's art as inspiration to improve - I find something I really like, and I go "man, I wanna be able to do that!"

... At the same time, though, I make sure to never, ever compare myself to them. Looking to others for inspiration is okay, but do not look to others to be your measuring stick. The only person you're trying to compete with is yourself. Keep your old sketchbooks around, flip through them when you're feeling down about your artistic progress, and compare where you are now with where you were years ago. I can guarantee you, you're nearly always going to be better now.

And that's really the only goal you're supposed to have.

[shazzbaa]

I don't get this as often anymore, because it's a lot easier to see others on some different path that I'm not on, but when I was younger I used to hit periods of time where Good Art made me feel dissatisfied with my own work pretty often.

When that happened, I would stop looking at other art for a while. To me, it always felt like I must be losing sight of my own vision and drive if the work of others was overwhelming me, so I would step away so that I could regain my focus.

[scythe]

I honestly don't ever feel this. I'm one of those people who think that if I spent my life dedicated to a certain thing, I could achieve a level of true excellence (I'm probably deluding myself). So when I see truly spectacular art I just get that elevated heart rate and sit and stare at it in awe. It makes me more pumped to get better with my own work, even though I may not aspire to be at their level.

At the end of the day, just remember that if you're looking at a really excellent artist's work, you're looking at decades of practise.

[KSlinger]

I don't feel this very often but when I do it's usually because, rather than wishing I was as good at art as someone else, seeing their work has made me painfully aware of how far I have to go on my own journey.

I see other people rocking their style and their writing but it doesn't stir up anything negative because I know what I want from my art and it's not THAT. That is what THEY want.

It just doesn't matter how good someone else is because you can't do them and they can't do you.

Not only that, but you're seeing the best of what they can do. Even the most astounding artists have a horde of shitty art they wouldn't dare show anyone.

Only you can make your art, so keep going. You're not ahead or behind because pace doesn't matter, there is no finish line, and how fast or slow other people reach their goals doesn't concern you. You know what you want and you'll get there one day.

[Kaeneus]

This is a really good way to look at it, I think, but I can't really get myself into that headspace yet. I know that a lot of the art I really admire isn't really my style, but I sort of wish it was? I mean, my style just sort of developed naturally for me, but I guess if I had the chance to actually consciously choose which path my art would take, I'd have chosen a different one. Maybe that's part of the reason why I find it so hard, because even though that art isn't my style, maybe I sort of wish it was?

[KSlinger]

It's never too late to learn how you do want to draw and change it up! My style changes all the time as I force myself to get better.

Imagine a bar chart where each bar is an aspect of your art skills (facial expressions, bodies, composition, colouring, design etc). Each bar is at a different height depending on how much time and effort you put into improving that one skill. You may find that as the bars surpass each other or level out, your style will change. Only when all the bars reach the top will you be satisfied with what you're producing but until then there will be unbalance as you try and hone each separate skill to the same degree of expertise.

Over the course of your life change in style is inevitable and welcome. The fact that you can look at other people's art now and recognise that there is something in it that you want is a blessing. Most people carry on knowing things aren't right but are unsure what it is they need to change.

Take all you can from the artists and art you admire- they are the only clue you will have as to what it is you really want. Don't feel bad about envy, harness it! They're actually showing you what to do.

[shaneoid77]

I think this is a moot point really, and it rather irks me that certain sites don't pick up on the fact that some people access Webcomics because that objective 'professional standard' isn't bogging down creativity for people. Therefore you are privy to the unadulterated exposure of that artists unfettered and raw talent. This is a good thing.

[Ringarune]

For me, I definitely do find myself jealous of other people's skills. I do find that it helps me improve though since I strive to achieve their level.

[jessiepolfliet]

Well don't see it as envy see it as inspirations to become better.
Lots of artist I saw three years ago sprouted the same reaction with me.
But I decided to learn from them and learn different aspects from artists I like and in that way develop my own style.

[infectedbloodcomics]

I;m not jealous of other people's skills - rather, I'm amazed and it motivates me to improve. Just keep practicing

[69Michi]

I get jealous, but also motivated at the same time. It usually happens when I watch speedpaint. I have this feeling of OMG why are they so good, and immediately after watching that speedpaint video, I just want to jump into SAI and try my best to draw whatever urge I was having. (Sometime I was watching people painting and I would want to paint too) I usually don't get depressed over my art that easily. If I do though I have friends to talk to! And when I'm feeling down about my art, I just flip back my old arts, stare at them and cringe to myself. The thing that gets me the most usually are artists that are so much younger than me that can draw so much better than me, but complain that their arts are shetty :/ Like come on, if your arts are shetty, then wtf are mine?

[SpavVy]

I don't have that problem anymore, I just get inspired instead. In my opinion, envy can really hold you back.

[indagold]

Grew out of it when I was 15. It''s a matter of honing your skills and knowing that you are not the artist you idolize and you will never be them. You are you with your own style. When I see good work I don't get jealous, It makes me want to work harder.