How do you deal with hating your art?

[akitsukino]

This is, in a way, sort of a rewording of another post I put up a while ago. In that post I mentioned how I felt like my art is finally reaching a point where it looks good. It has decent perspective, pretty good expressions, and the gestures are getting better. But as "good" as it finally is I still can't say I like it. When I look at it feel nothing. It looks like something anyone could've drawn. It feels like everything a draw recently just looks empty.
There's always that old saying that artist are never satisfied with their work, but it feels like I quickly jump the gun from being unsatisfied to being straight disgusted. The worse part is I think deep down I've constructed such a high standard to the reach, that I know I'll never really get to it, so in a way its like I'm almost punishing myself for trying to reach something that doesn't exist. And even when I do occasionally get what I want out of my art, I've usually beaten myself up so much to get there that it feels like a hollow victory.

It's almost like I've built a cage around myself without giving myself a way out.

Luckily, realizing I'll never really reach the level of satisfaction has helped me realize the best thing to do is simply press on in light of it. Its just the issue of actually doing it. Its hard to even finish a drawing when I'm already seeing so much wrong with it . My issue of not liking my art is also probably linked to my issue of not liking myself (sipping on that dangerous cocktail of anxiety and perfectionism!), but I'd like to think trying to like my art at least could be the first step in dealing with that too.

So how do some of you do it. How do push past feelings of degradation and unrealistic standards and actually get something done, even if you don't like it? How do you ignore such pervasive feeling, especially when you know there's no pleasing it? I could really use some advice, because I feel like these feelings have really gotten out of control.

[AlkseeyaKC]

I hate my art. But I have motivation to get things done. I take online commissions as most of my art so I have to deliver art to people. So that makes me get things done. Typically I do the sketch the best I can. I say, "this looks like crap" So I Ink it see if it looks better. I usually do improve a few things on the ink. But then I think it still looks like crap. Usually things look amazingly better after I color and shade the art. So knowing this makes me feel I can work though to the coloring, because for my art the coloring makes it look good. As I work I slowly work to make thing better, I try to focus on one thing at a time. Like maybe I'll work on teeth for a while.

I also find sometimes if it's feeling empty, try to pump some life into it be getting inspired by something, maybe it's an anime show, movie, music, or some art that you really love and try to do something like that. Like one time I was going to enter this contest and I wanted to make something way awesome. I played this phone game that had cards with really awesome art. I wanted to make something that I felt would be on those cards but still in my own style. It came out really nice. I spent longer then normal on it too. I usually try to make art fast. With my ADD If I work slow I usually get board and it's hard to concentrate on it.

Over all, I find it's best to keep working at it. Try not to over think it. Maybe try some new tings to play with.

[TonyEsp]

trust me buddy you can draw for 50 years and still hate your art

[AnnaLandin]

By learning how to be kind and forgiving of yourself.

It took me a while - I spent a lot of years hating my art, and hating myself for not being as good as other people, and being bitterly jealous, and it sucked and was horribly detrimental to both my own mental state and, well, any hope of artistic development. Learning how to forgive myself for not being the best at something, and for screwing up, helped me get past hating my art.

I have high standards for myself. I'm a workaholic who feels guilty for taking breaks from drawing, and am a perfectionist who can fiddle endlessly with the tiniest details to get them right. Of course I still have days when I look at my art and just want to drown myself in a bucket.

... but these days they're outnumbered by the days when I look at an imperfect piece and think "wow, this has a bunch of flaws - but that's okay! I'm learning!". It takes time and conscious effort to get to that place, though, and I've been working at it for a long time.

Next time you look at a piece and hate it, tell yourself that you have to find at least one positive thing about it. Just one. And with the piece after that, try to find two. Practise. Getting over this kind of self-loathing is difficult, and it's got everything to do with repetition. Repeat positive thoughts. Forgive yourself for messing up. Beat into your head that a bad attempt is better than no attempt at all. And no time is ever wasted in art. Even when you screw up and draw bad things, you will have learned something. Even if that something is just "don't draw heads that big".

My issue of not liking my art is also probably linked to my issue of not liking myself (sipping on that dangerous cocktail of anxiety and perfectionism!)

I could really use some advice, because I feel like these feelings have really gotten out of control.

Ultimately, though, we're just strangers on the internet, and if you feel like this art-loathing stems from deeper self-confidence issues, you should probably speak to a mental health professional about it in some way.

[DMBrigman]

I can definitely relate to this. I think it is important to really force yourself to enjoy the process and not focus too much on the results. Honestly every time you draw something you get better, even if you hate it. So I make myself finish things even if I hate them. I don't have to show them to anyone, then the next time I draw that thing I should be better.

Sometimes this means focusing on a low pressure way to get better. If you hate how you draw feet, just draw a bunch of feet in a sketchbook without trying to make a finished piece. If you hate how you color then find someone else's stuff to color, so you don't focus on hating your linework.

It also helps me to know that despite how much I may not like what I have drawn, there is someone out there who thinks it is awesome and wants to be able to draw like me. We are often our worst critics and see flaws that others are not aware of.

[KSlinger]

You want the true true? I accept my shitty art and put it aside as 'not being good enough tax'. I have to pay the tax. It's something all people who do art must pay. Like home insurance or national health care, or getting an MOT for your car. If I don't pay, I'm cheating. I'm not putting my share into the pool of shitty art and self-hatred that ALL artists must contribute to each year in order to keep calling themselves artists at all.

So when you get down about your art remember you're just paying your taxes. Everyone has to do it, no one enjoys it, but if you don't do it you're cheating yourself. One day you will pay less tax. It's like a loyalty scheme or a no-claims bonus for a driver: you will be rewarded for your experience and in time the costs will be less. You try and go a whole year without hating some of your art you can bet your bottom dollar you haven't have grown much at all.

Next time you get stuck in a rut and hate your art, pat yourself on the back and remember you're doing your part, and (better) you've gained from it too.

[Michelle]

First of all, it's important to be okay with failure! A bad drawing does not condemn you being a terrible artist forever. Even artists you look up to make bad drawings, people just usually don't share their flubbed artwork. Don't feel like there's this point you'll reach where you'll suddenly just be great all the time.

I'm a perfectionist, so I've had to really learn how to keep my hyper-critical attitude in check. One of the biggest changes to my attitude about art/perfection was being forced to work under tight schedules. First with a previous art job, and now with putting out comic pages weekly. A lot of the time I don't have enough time to get a page as pretty or perfect as I want it to be, but the important thing is-- I did the best I could.

Maybe it's a bad job at a certain perspective, maybe the anatomy got really screwed up-- either way, tell yourself "This doesn't look right, but it's the best I can do right now. I'll do better on the next try."

Sometimes our understanding of drawing outpaces our ability to draw. As long as you know you're giving it your best shot, then you'll keep growing. Just be okay with screwing up now and then, because it's always going to happen!

[Zetsubonii]

First ask, why do you hate it? Like really ask, there's no room for the bullshit answer of, "I don't know, it just doesn't look good to me." Analyze and study your work, why doesn't it work? Ask for outside opinion from a friend, the community or someone like an art teacher. Study up on the issue. Say it's lighting, find video tutorials, take photographs, study how the light harmonizes with the object. Practice on doodles, small art pieces and other things. Redo your page. Does it look good now? No? Rinse and repeat.

I do this all the time, and I plan on doing it continously, which is why, after I finish the first chapter of my comic, Jim's Days, I'll edit the fuck out of it :U Hating your own work is pointless and is pretty much a waste of time. It's always better to grow as an artist through research and practice instead

[JessJackdaw]

You try and go a whole year without hating some of your art you can bet your bottom dollar you haven't have grown much at all

Truer words were never spoken.

The moment you're complacent with your art is the moment you stop getting better. I would be lying if I said I enjoy looking at my art. I enjoy making it and having people react, but once I make it... I'd rather not look too hard. All I see are the flaws and an insatiable desire to fix them.

When you fix them you learn something new. When you learn something new you find more flaws. When you find more flaws.... it's like M.C.Escher building a staircase.

I see a lot of artists that live happily where they're at, and wear their homogenized style like a suit of armor against critique.

I kind of envy them a bit. It must be nice to look at your art and feel satisfied all the time...

[WakaXO]

I think it's important to keep a positive attitude with your art. Instead of saying "oh I hate my art!", say "this isn't perfect but it has improved a bit and still has room for improvement."
I feel like people trap themselves in negative emotions and believe me I get it, I do it too, it's totally normal. But the further you can distance yourself from that habit, the happier you'll be in everything not just your art. When you see something wrong with a picture, don't get frustrated that it's wrong but look at it in a positive light. At least you can tell that there's something wrong and once you can identify that there's something wrong, you can fix it. So when you see mistakes right down ideas beside the mistakes on how to fix them or make notes of things you could do art studies on to improve.
This is generally how I go about my art, I don't like the idea of wasting time on something that I will inevitably hate so I try to learn from every piece I do.

[UncleVlad]

When my dad died it really changed my perspective.

Now, i'm not saying that i want you to go through something that traumatic, but it helped put things into perspective. Mostly that if i don't do something, that i can't be successful or hope to improve.

So i've been powering through. I needed a project to occupy myself after his death, and i wanted to draw more. So here i am.

Also be aware that even prolific artists are human and make mistakes. I love Kohta Hirano's work, but OH MAN he makes some painful errors sometimes!

You kind of just have to like it how it is- imperfections and all.