How to stop comparing you art with others?

[eagle1]

If you figure out how to overcome it, please let me know. I am my own worst critic.

Eagle
(at least my writing makes up for my art)

[raymundnell]

I definitely have this problem! T.T And I think all artists, at one point expriences this. I can't really say something cuz I am like this too.So, Let's wait for the advice of others.

[sarahrebecca58]

I also have a bit of this problem. Though I mainly got this when I was writing. But I keep having it in the back of my mind that my art isn't good enough.

[scythe]

I find artist envy more or less a positive thing, and use it to encourage me to improve. So I don't view it as something to overcome, but rather something to absorb and enjoy. As to what helps me to keep drawing, that's the easiest. I keep drawing because I don't really have a choice. When I'm not drawing, I'm thinking about drawing, and can't wait to get back into it. It's my normal, and if I don't put in at least three hours a day, I miss it, and feel like I've wasted that day.

[SpavVy]

It's a common artist thing, we all do it (or most of us do) even if we think we don't xD I tend to compare myself to VanRah sometimes because she colors vary well and we were both inspired by Shirow Miwa in the beginning. I envy her sometimes because she's published and has tons of supporters, making comics is her job and I've been trying hard to one day make it my job. So yeah you're not alone on this boat. comparing isn't a bad thing as long as it's on a healthy level, I think it helps artists work harder to improve.

[keii4ii]

Like @scythe said, it's not something entirely negative. I find that when I'm stressed out from unrelated aspects of my life, that taints my artist envy into this unproductive DARKNESS that drags me down, down and down. But when I'm happy, the envy inspires me and motivates me.

[scythe]

Yep! At least 3 times a year I seem to find a new artist (on Youtube, or in comics, or where ever) that completely flips my idea of what I think is possible. Sometimes the level of talent is shocking! But I'm never disheartened when this happens, rather, I find it thrilling, like I'm seeing the world with new eyes. And hopefully, I'll be able to do new things with these new eyes.

[puppetbomb]

Yes, all the time. I don't think my art is anything special, and I teetered between taking time to make comics and improving my painting, anatomy, trying to make my own style, creating mock-ups of a game of my own design... It was overwhelming. I wanted to do so many things, but I had a full-time job and couldn't accommodate everything in my schedule.

Then I sat down and thought long and hard what I liked to do.

Painting's a pain. I don't like working on one thing for a long period of time or working on a piece that was a one-off illustration.

Game design proved to be difficult, since I needed to learn a new interface and I knew that bug fixing could take up to weeks and months, which I wasn't willing to do.

I loved making animatics. Though I thought making comics was too time-intensive and arduous (because inking), I wanted a medium where I could reach out and touch people. And since games were out of the question, and painting can only do so much, the next best thing was comics.

So I decided to improve my art around making comics. While I still try to improve my painting/color/anatomy, I know I want to do more comics which lets me focus on polishing my skills to enhance my storytelling (also, I'm in the game art industry, so I kinda need to keep up my skills :/).

... Not sure if that helps, but I guess it can help narrow down what kind of artist you want to be.

[AnnaLandin]

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).

[RiverKai]

I definitely agree that most everyone tends to do this and I think it's completely fine under two conditions:

1. It's only bad when you not only doubt your abilities, but ALSO let it ruin your progress or possibility of improving.

That's where I would say it would be good to start backing up and doing some self-talk that you realize you're putting too much irrational pressure on yourself over someone else who truly has nothing to do with how you create your personal life, unless it's to inspire you.

1. That it remains more of an admirable-jealousy towards the other artist.

It's absolutely okay and human to feel jealousy of course, but artists should be supporting other artists, especially if they impress you enough to make you want to improve your own artwork. I've seen a lot of people try to take it out on the other artist instead of trying to reevaluate why they felt that way and think of what they can do to feel inspired instead of spiteful.

Another important thing that I think kind of relates to artist's block -- that is THE time if any time to push through and not stop drawing! There will likely be many mistakes, but perfection is absolutely not important. The reality is that maybe you can now see how to fix your mistakes in new ways by looking at work other than your own, and therefore be able to improve much faster by pushing through those emotions because it also shows that you aren't giving up on yourself.

[AnnaLandin]

Another important thing that I think kind of relates to artist's block -- that is THE time if any time to push through and not stop drawing! There will likely be many mistakes, but perfection is absolutely not important. The reality is that maybe you can now see how to fix your mistakes in new ways by looking at work other than your own, and therefore be able to improve much faster by pushing through those emotions because it also shows that you aren't giving up on yourself.

Yes to this! While giving yourself time off away from drawing is important to, don't give up entirely. One of the reasons you get artist's block (ie: you think everything you draw sucks) is because you've gotten good enough that you can now see the flaws in the stuff you're drawing - you're on the verge of getting better! You're a few exp away from levelling up! Don't stop - keep going and I promise you'll be able to push through. It might happen in a few days, or it might take a few months, but you'll get there.

(note: sometimes artist's block is a symptom of something else, like depression, in which case you should NOT push yourself too hard; treat your depression, not its symptoms)

[RiverKai]

Very very true and an important point! Depression is also very common in artists unfortunately it seems.

[cartoonjunkie]

Thank you all for your words, and I hope this thread is able to help more artists than just me. Because I know I'm not the only one. Thanks again!

[JigokuNeko]

It's all a matter of perspective. When you see someone draw something awesome in the time it takes for you to pick up your pen you only see the, say, half hour it took them to draw that particular picture. A more accurate mental image is to imagine the hundreds or even thousands of hours they put into practice in order to be able to draw said picture. Nobody was born with mad skillz and all but a handful in the world are geniuses. The rest are just working their asses off practicing. When that sinks in, you stop comparing and you start learning from the more skilled artists.

[blastryoku]

How do i stop comparing my art with others? Simple, whenever i see an awesome artist and his/her art i go get depressed in a corner and after 2-3 minutes, i slap my face with both hands and think to myself "ok, I'm going to practice harder" and keep drawing.
That's how it is to me.

[Doubtcent]

I really never stop comparing my art with other peoples art. However the way I do it is never negative. I never say, "Wow. I'll never get that good with art. I suck." Instead I say, "Wow. If I keep practicing and learning, maybe I can do something as cool as that!"

That's really how all of us should look at other people's works. Study, learn, emulate, and practice. Never feel like your work isn't good enough and never be proud enough to say that there's no room for improvement. Keep working at it and eventually other people will start saying "Wow" to your stuff.

I personally like looking back at my older art and seeing how far I've gotten. Heck I look back at the stuff I did only a few months ago and I didn't realize how much I've pushed myself to improve. It takes just as long to make comics as before, however I'm putting in much more detail and cleaner artwork, my jokes are better and I'm very satisfied with the choices I make.

As long as you keep the mindset that everyone started somewhere, from stick figures to full-drawn illustrations, there's no reason why we should ever stop comparing.

[TristanJensen]

I actally try to use my comparison to other artists to my advantage. I figure if I can learn to do what they do (by either studying or copying (then discarding it, not stealing it and taking credit for it) them.
I've actually seen other creators do "drawing my characters in other styles" comits that kind of do that.
I don't really get jealous, I see it as a challenge, which, for me, makes it a lot more fun. And if you're the only one who knows then if you fail you don't really have to worry about it

except for fisheye placebo... I'm never gonna be that good...

[yvettegustafsson]

I agree with what all of the above has said a 150% and then some, but here's a concrete tips&trick on what to do: What you are good at, you don't think about, it comes naturally to you, right? So when the moment comes, that someone says to you what you're good at,

write it down. Write down exactly who said it, what they said about your art and your special ninja skill and when they said it. Because when you feel like crap because of everything you're not good at, you can look at it for a while and cling to that thing like Jungle George clings to a liana <3

And second.. the things you look at others in a jealous way.. is that what you want to get better at? Then that's not jealousy, that's your next goal! Maybe you're not as into that thing as that person is, maybe it's not in you to fight and work to be just as skilled in that particular area, but it's something to put some extra weight in for a week or two, so you feel a little bit more confident in it. Until you find someone/something else to be jealous/be inspired by.

If you feel the jealousy but don't want to take the time to improve in that area, even a little bit, back away. Slowly. Eat a sandwich and do something that makes you happy for a bit, maybe watch Welcome to Sweden or another rad sitcom

[shaylafarley5]

I still do that lol, but to me it's more like motivation. It challenges me to keep improving and drawing things that I'm weak with. (Like perspective, and fighting motions).
But you also have to realize there are a lot of comics/manga's out there that are drawn a certain way, unlike the pros, and yet they get just as many views. Which tells you that they are more story driven then art driven.
So it's a 50/50 chance either way

[winglesscomic]

Funny, I drew something the other day that denotes my feels while seeing all the artists here that far surpass my laughable skill.

When I see someone I like, I study their art, HARD (after crying to myself). Scrutinize the shit out of it. Every single brushstroke. This has led me to be inconsistent in my art because I'm always trying to emulate artists I'm jealous of, in a horrid amalgamation of different styles.

I say - take what you like and make it yours. After sobbing profusely in a corner and telling yourself you'll give up art forever (for at least 15 minutes), of course. Watch livestreams of that artist's process. Ask them questions. Because I absolutely refuse to allow them to keep their secret of good art to themselves.