Does anyone else get randomly unsatisfied with your art?

[Missapogee]

I know the whole"You're your own worst critic! Just keep drawing daily!" thing but does anyone else look at their art and all of a sudden stop thinking it looks good? I've been pretty proud of my improvement over the past few months but then I was trying to find a good drawing of the face of a certain character for reference and for some reason I couldn't find a single one I liked. It's not like this is the first time i've read through my own comic either, but for some reason everything looks bad to me now, and I worry that my style is way too rough around the edges and I should hold myself to higher standards.

Obviously I'm familiar with that feeling when you look back on your old art and realize all the things you used to do wrong, but it's usually something that happens over time, not all of a sudden like this.

[VibrantFox]

I've definitely had that happen and I don't think it's too rare either

I think my personal crisis has been worrying about the appeal of my style and whether I need to change it but at the same time it's something I've worked on and developed for years. I think the best thing to do sometimes when you're dissatisfied with your art is to try to pinpoint what specifically it is that's bugging you. Once you an find that it makes it a bit easier to figure out how to find a solution or if you need to find one at all.

[DasIstWunderblyat]

It happens all the time whenever I see people with better art fundamentals and/or better received art than mine.

[rajillustration]

Yes, and I think it's been worse lately since I'm not going out that often due to Covid restrictions. So I'm just spending waaaay too much time in my own thoughts in my own space youknow? I had a random video call with a friend the other day and man how much I needed that to help me with the art blues.

[gempompadour]

All the time! Sometimes I'm really satisfied with a page and other times I hate everything I've drawn, and get the urge to just delete my webcomic because it's too embarassing. I see other artists create art that I wish I was capable of making, but not knowing how they draw, what programs and assets they use makes it harder to learn (cough copy) from them.

[potatogirl]

(post withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 24 hours unless flagged)

[Kendial]

All the darn time! I can't leave most panels alone - in the end I just have to say to myself 'right, you've tinkered too much now, let it go' and put it one side. Otherwise I'd never get anything finished!

But I think that's part of growing as an artist and so long as you can see what's making you feel a bit squiffy about it, then you can work on that the next time Besides, you say you've been improving recently, and that's all that matters - keep it up!

[alextsarace]

Yeah, it's me, who gets one page drawn as a real masterpiece and other as a 5 yo's family drawing. I'm permanently dissatisfied with myself.

[LadyN]

I remember drawing this eye.

It was amazing in my eyes a month or two ago. Now I don’t like it as much. The actual eye part is probably the best in my opinion. The bits around are disgusting

So I guess it’s normal. To draw something then when you improve slightly it looks terrible

[Legendofgenii]

Yes, all the time.

I guess it helps us to keep improving?

[nekocoa]

Yeah, I definitely go back and forth with it. Sometimes I'll think everything looks okay and I'm really proud of the improvement I've had, but then I'll look at something I finished a few days ago and I'm no longer happy with it. Although it's kind of disheartening to feel like I never make anything I can be proud of for awhile, it does mean that I'm constantly improving to meet my expectations.

[pilot-obvious]

It's like you read my mind because I've been experiencing this the past couple of days. I usually like to think it's a moment of growth where my art will improve since I look at it more critically. But unfortunately, I don't have as much time to draw right now as I would usually. I do feel like I really need to look at some fundamentals and practice with some studies... if only I had time!

[Tanako]

All the time. I don't like the dots couple of pages of my new comic. The earlier pages are better because now I have a solid grasp on what my characters look like, body build, and personality. My readers love it so I guess that's what helps but man, I wish I could go back and redo them but that's not a good use of my time so I'll let them be. I try to focus on the goal. I consider every drawing I've completed a practice why? because each art you create is always (some cases) going to be better than the last because somehow, you get better and better.

[MeltingCORE]

I understand that feeling! I'm not sure I would call it unsatisfied because I'm still proud of how far I've come but yes, sometimes I stop and I'm like "I could do even better, let's go!"

As for thinking your art looks bad, I find that staring at my own work for too long does that. When I take a breather and come back I see I was overanalyzing. Then I try to fix any issues that truly do stand out.

[ble]

It happens to me all the time, especially because I keep watching illustrations or youtube videos of great professional artists. So in my eyes, that keep seeing pro-level art other people make, mine is just amateur.

[nathanKmcwilliams]

I did in the past when Dragon Sparking was still a Pixel-Art comic. But I switched to a different style, and then switched yet again. Now I couldn't be happier and each new chapter looks better and better.

[borzoiteeth]

(If anyone knows the credit please tell)

[summer_coefficient]

It'd be easier for me to count the amount of times I've actually been satisfied with my art