How to stop comparing you art with others?

@AnnaLandin Anna Landin
Wed, 22 Apr 2015 05:37:15 +0000

@AnnaLandin wrote:

I think we all struggle with this in some way - mostly because we're our own worst critics. And it stays, even when you've improved a lot, and have really good art skills - I've heard people I admire for their insane art skills complain about how they're not as good as someone else.

I've struggled with this a whole lot, watching people making improvements to their own skills in leaps and bounds, or just being simply amazing when I first encounter them (I've got this friend who is absolutely astounding at drawing hands, for example - and another whose colouring and lighting skills are out of this world) and trying to fight my own resentment and jealousy.

It got better when I came to terms with the idea that there's a lot of hard work behind their skills as well, and just because it looks like everything comes easy, doesn't mean it actually does. And I tried to internalise the idea of comparing my art only with my own art. If something I drew today looks better than I something I drew a year ago - that's great! That's what I'm striving for! My goal is not to be better than somebody else - it's to be better than myself.

Another thing that took me years to get over was the idea that everything had to be perfect, or else I wasn't finished. The real truth is that all those flaws I see in my comic? Most other people won't see those - and even if they do, they won't mind. It's okay to not be perfect, as long as I'm a little better than I was on the last page.

I'm a slow, step-by-tiny-step improver, and that's okay. We learn something new every time we put pen to paper (or screen, or tablet).