How could I stop envying other comics?

[Iron]

Tsk, tsk, nothing should stop you from making fanarts! Awesome creators (like myself ; D) put fanarts they receive in their comic/ on their wall, thus giving YOU the opportunity to get seen and gain popularity!

[purrlpankras]

^ agree also,
Asking the artist to do a collab will get you tons of people

I asked the artist of "Romanticly Apocalyptic" (it's now on Tapastic) if we could collab. He let me do one of the scenes from his comic, and damn I got tones of views.

[goenn]

Turn that negative emotion into one of determination and power! The journey to great art is a long and difficult one but it doesn't need to be depressing at the same time. You can learn from how they do their work and try to develop your own style from it. It's not going to happen in an instance, one must be patient!

I too get seriously jealous of how other people draw - so many artists I can mention hhffhrhrr but the thing is, they took a loooong time to get there. And you can do it too!

You must have faith in yourself ( ; u ; )b

[UzukiCheverie]

What I found what really helped me was turning that jealousy into admiration and support.

Always a fan of Sakimi-chan and Meago (the artist who does that art where she turns food into cute girls), I started supporting both of them - I support Sakimi-chan on Patreon (although I do it mostly for the art, still not a big fan of her as a person), and I pre-ordered and purchased Meago's first edition of her food girls as an art book.

And any artists that are on Tapastic that I admire or really want to strive for, I support them on Tapastic. It really helps potential jealousy turn into admiration and caring when you feel like you're doing your part to help them further their career, and with all those connections, you have something to fall back on too.

I'm not saying you should be throwing your money at people to get them to like you or to get over your feelings regarding their art. All I'm saying is, you should try and channel those envious feelings into more positive reinforcement, and maybe learn a thing or two along the way. I've found and gotten a lot of tutorials from said artists as well, and I've attended livestreams, and all of this I feel has helped me improve a little bit more each time.

So even if it's just leaving friendly comments, engaging in their fanbase, doing fanart, or whatever it is you want to do, in order to feel the way you want to feel about their art, you have to start acting the way you'd want to feel to change that. If you continuously act jealous, it's only going to get worse and that jealousy is going to turn to hatred and spite. Be the change you want to see in your own opinions and emotions, and remember that every artist follows their own path. Everyone struggles at some point, even the best artists in the world. We're all still learning, and no matter how good you get at your art, there's always going to be someone who's one step ahead of you, so keep striving for that person and grow more and more as you meet more people, get exposed to more art, and learn more things about your own style and art.

[Delete]

I no longer get envious of art skills. I've come to terms that no matter how hard I try I won't have unbelievably awesome skills. For instance I've known people that practice basketball 5 hours a day and can wreck me on the court, but they are still 5 feet tall and will never go pro because they don't have that height (of course there are some short basketball players in the NBA but there are only like 5). Sometimes I think you just got accept what you don't have and learn to exploit the abilities you do have.

I do get jealous and envious over comics that are successful with terrible writing, which is pretty much every video game webcomic. I absolutely hate that every joke pretty much made is a parody instead of an original thought. I can't count how many times I've heard a legend of zelda navi "hey listen" joke. I get mad that there are so many better comics on the web but people would rather read a story about two dudes on a couch playing video games. And these people that write those sort of comics are making lots of fans and decent money.

Don't get me wrong though, I love video games and used to play in street fighter tournaments and Someday I actually want to write a comic about video games with giant robots and other space opera, sci-fi elements once I get the time. But I think the genre of game comics can be done a lot better than just two guys on a couch talking.

[Doubtcent]

If you're jealous, work your butt off to try and get better than them. Even if that's impossible, at any rate, it's a goal, and goals are better than jealousy.

[Kamikaze]

See, this is something no one ever really talks about when it comes to art.
What you're experiencing is called The Creative Gap. Ira Glass talked about it at one point and it basically boils down to this:

When you're beginning in any creative field you have to acknowledge two things:
1. Your Skill
2. Your Taste

As a creative you start developing your taste WAY earlier than your skill. Skill comes later, because as you're growing up you're soaking in all this stuff around you and developing your taste (or the kinds of creative expression you really enjoy). Your taste is always head of your skill. The further you go in skill the more refined your taste becomes. There's always a gap between what your skills are and what your taste is. The point is to NEVER close that gap, because if you do manage to close it, where do you go from there? This is why finding amazing artists, and trying to work out how they do things is so important. This is where your inspiration comes from.

So, how do you DEAL with this gap?
1. Recognize this is normal. Everyone has artists that they admire.
2. Allow yourself to fail, and know it's okay to suck. Every artist who you probably look up to has spent more time in the week working their butts off than some of us have in a single day. Being a good artist takes work.
3. Stop focusing on "oh my gosh they have _______" and start focusing on the "why". For example, as a teen I loved Glen Keane's work. I thought he was amazing and was so frustrated that I couldn't get the same results. So I did the unthinkable. I traced his work. I printed out way more copies of his drawings than I probably should have, sat down and just traced them. I did not do this so I could pass this stuff off as my own, but because I wanted to figure out how he drew his characters. I learned his proportions were a good deal of what made his character work so great, and that his line of action was always defined. This was a big deal to me at 12, I had no idea what to call those things, but I understood that's what I needed to do to get better, and began implementing them in my own work.
4. YOU. ARE. ALLOWED. TO. SUCK. It's okay! You're not going to be amazing. You're going to fail, and you're going to fail spectacularly, and that's WONDERFUL, because you know what? That's how you get better! That's how you find out how not to do things!

And my last bit of advice?

[fanyart]

I do get jealous and envious over comics that are successful with terrible writing, which is pretty much every video game webcomic. I absolutely hate that every joke pretty much made is a parody instead of an original thought. I can't count how many times I've heard a legend of zelda navi "hey listen" joke. I get mad that there are so many better comics on the web but people would rather read a story about two dudes on a couch playing video games. And these people that write those sort of comics are making lots of fans and decent money.

I don't get jealous of those comics, they just make my head shake in wonder (even to the point that I somehow developed an allergy to the comics in the Gaming category). I value originality over anything and the thought of drawing something that someone else came up feels stupid. Well, guess these comics are popular because people flock to things they know - a game X is popular then when they see the name of the game X or some of its characters, they go to read it no matter how uninventive it is - they just need something they know, feel secure with, and know that people who have played the game too will come too to talk.

[SpavVy]

Instead of being jealous why not try and learn from your favorite artists? Turn that jealousy into inspiration!
I admire VanRah's artwork along with Shirow Miwa. I've admired Miwa's artwork for years and spent a lot of time learning from him as well as other artists, I drew until my hands would hurt and I've had many moments of being frustrated and wanting to give up. I've even torn up my drawings from being so frustrated. After I calmed myself down I'd do it again.
I tried lots of art mediums on my journey, heck I've even drawn with a quill (including a homemade quill)
We artists worked HARD to get where we are now and we're all still learning.
Best advice I can give is pick up a pencil and start drawing, it's going to be a bumpy ride for a while but it will get better in time.

Just sitting there and feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to help you.

[yvettegustafsson]

I agree with

So even if it's just leaving friendly comments, engaging in their fanbase, doing fanart, or whatever it is you want to do, in order to feel the way you want to feel about their art, you have to start acting the way you'd want to feel to change that. If you continuously act jealous, it's only going to get worse and that jealousy is going to turn to hatred and spite.

it's ok to be a little bit jealous, but the question is how you deal with it. Do you let it consume you, or do you see it as a sign of where you want your art to go?

If the creator has lots of subscribers, they've probably worked for those followers in one way or another. So no one is just lucky. If you think their style is nice, more people probably think the way you do and follow them, so no luck. Why do you stop yourself from making that fanart? He/she will be delighted to see your fanart, I bet you money on that! Tell them you're a fan, and that you love what they do! Start talking to them and you'll discover that your thoughts might be wrong. If you give them a serious question, you will be taken seriously.

Everyone struggles, especially in the art world. Sometimes it's hard to see, but try to look at it with fresh eyes. It's ok to be down every oncen in a while, but you have to be able to shake it off. No more than 5 minutes of pouting per day for you, young Jedi!

[Delete]

Yeah, I really get frustrated that people will more likely like something if it is familiar instead of creative.

But also I wanted to mention, I think being a little jealous is good because it keeps you hungry and improving. As long as you don't let that jealous consume and change your work.

[Menbung]

Yeah, I agree with a lot of peeps here, gotta turn that "jealousy" into motivation, not saying it's an easy task, but you can't let that depression consume ya (gotta tell that to myself when I'm down that abyss).

I think it's important to have that awareness that somebody out there is better than you, it makes you push forward, to improve again and again. When you think you know it all, mmm, nothing good can come from that....

So learn from that one you idolize, I do it all the time. Practice, study their works, you wont accomplish anything if you sit down and do nothing.

Finally, patience, keep working for it, but remember that things take time. Tick tock 8_8

[ErithEl]

@keac Ok, ok...so I've been hearing a lot of good advice from other creators here: Turn your envy into admiration or inspiration...work your ass off to get better...attend lifestreams (this actually really helps!) and watch tutorials...

There's been talk of how some people are just popular and no one really knows why, but the thing I find myself going back to is this:

Are you proud of what you do?

I'm not talking about the: "I'm really good" which leads to "but then why does so and so creator have more subscribers than me." I'm talking about when you look at your story and your art, do you feel genuine pride for your work? Not your work in comparison to someone else's, either, because then it is still about the other person.

Your artwork; your story is your own. It is separate from everyone else's, and that's how you should view it. You created something, and that, in itself, is amazing and good.

One other thing that has helped me fend off any unwanted envy is reaching out to the creators I admire. Let them know you enjoy their comic (omg do fan art!), tell them you admire their style. We are all creators and we all need encouragement, no matter how many subscribers or views we have. The more you reach out (and hopefully are graciously received), the less envy you will start to feel, because it will eventually become happiness at the success of a friend.

[AnnaLandin]

We all get envious of other artists sometimes - artists who do things we feel we are incapable of, or have gotten further in their artistic journey. It's natural. I know I come across people who draw so well that I feel kind of helpless sometimes.

HOWEVER - the hurdle to get over is to not let that envy turn negative. It's hard work, but the key is to stop thinking "I am SO envious, why can THEY do that and I can't? I'll never be that good!" and to start thinking "Wow, I'm so envious, they can do stuff I can't! I better start practising!". Let the envy become a motivation to do better, rather than an invitation to stop trying.

Those artists you're envious of? They put in a LOT of hard work to get to where they are today. They had their moments when they felt sad and envious of other artists and wanted to give up - but they didn't. They kept working. They kept drawing, always striving to get better, and used their jealousy to fuel the fires of their creativity. Good art skills aren't something that just happens; you work hard at it! Likewise, having a lot of subscribers isn't something that just happens either; you work hard at that too! Posting in the forums, talking about it on other social media accounts, keeping up a regular updating schedule, etc., etc.

When you look at someone's wonderful artwork, you're actually looking at someone's hard work. Applaud them for it, and try to apply the same sort of effort to your own work. In the end, your only important competition is with yourself. You won't get better simply because the people you're jealous of get worse - or stop drawing. You'll get better by working hard.

[Erena]

Most of the time I think my art looks terrible haha. But something very important to remember is that everyone learns at their own pace, so don't beat yourself up about it if you feel that you're not improving. Just continue drawing! When I look back at my art from a year ago, I realize how much I've improved, and it's such a great feeling.

[studiomik]

That's your fuel buddy! Right there! Now pump it into your engine and start drawing! Make a burnout and leave all the jealousy behind you. You're journey just started.

[keac]

Thanks for all your advice!
I remember when I always miss livestreams from my favorite creators because of time zones, it still happening today, and I told myself "If I could just watch this livestream, I'm not going to be jealous anymore."

Oh, if you wanna add more, please do

[ToonDoctor]

Let's flip this the other way. I started just a bit before you and you have more than twice the readers I have! Life is not so bad after all when you think about it!

Cheers

[papayaman1000]

Ever hear of xkcd? It's one of the most popular comics ever, and it has wonderful art, including: Stickmen. Yes, stick figures. What makes it popular is its humor, and the fact that somebody found a strip funny enough to repost it, so he got his fifteen minutes and due to fairly consistent style it never really wore off. Just build up a bit of a base, make a few neat things (like humor), and post it in a few places where more people might see it, like imgur or something.

-The guy who's been sitting on his 50-sub celebratory comic for over five months now.

[Blacksanz]

I feel you are too worried about the image you might project to other people :s

Let's see, it's ok to feel jealous, it's human, let's accept it. As long as it doesn't steal your precious time and humour, or make you behave badly towards the person you envy, it's ok

In my case, when I see someone whose art is better than mine, I don't envy he/she, I admire them. You have got to assume that they are different from you, maybe they've got more talent, maybe they've studied/practiced more.... don't try to copy them or be them, just improve for yourself

It comes to a different point when I see people with a lot of comments or followers, there I feel jealous LOL and I can't help that because feedback is what makes communication truly communicative. It is a wishhhh for communication peopleee!