What do you do when you can't stand looking at your art?

[Damatris]

So, after a long long time the dreaded "everything I do looks horrible" phase has hit me. Usually I just get dissatisfied with my current skill level which drives me harder to improve but this time... I seriously can't stand the look of anything I've made, no matter how old or new, comic or illustration.

Any tricks how you combat that sort of slumps?

I tried just powering through it at first (which usually works) but it actually made things even worse this time. Now I've been ignoring everything for few days and just played Dragon Age. :') I know I have to force myself to draw tomorrow or I'll fall behind. But yeah, any tips?

[AnnaLandin]

Sometimes, stepping away from it is all you CAN do - take a break, do something else, stare at the clouds, play videogames, whatever. Just do something.

And when you try again, start by drawing something you love drawing. Like, maybe you love drawing dragons - draw a dragon. Or maybe you love drawing really cute girls - then draw a really cute girl. Just ease back into drawing, and try to remember why you love it in the first place.

[Sanz]

I've been in that route, I still kinda am in that route, because i always see someone better then me but i love doing it even if it looks horrible, i try to think of it as just a mindset, and never forget you are your biggest critic, no matter what you do all that matters is you and how you view it. what helps me with this kind of thing, is i think well...i use to be worse... and although my old work is equally as cringey and nauseating, i think i had to be there...to get where i am today, and if i keep up...if i truly love doing this i'll be even better tomorrow...but i'll never improve if i don't try.

[mariusthered]

advice from an old artist.....

get some clay ( air drying or even kids modeling clay )......

pound the crap out of it !

frustrations gone...

[phen]

I totally understand what you're going through here. I've hit a weird little wall myself where the art I'm putting out is such a technical failure to the art I once made, it's sickening. I'm doing the power-through you mentioned, though. It's hit hard since last November and I've found that chatting a lot about others' art really helps boost your esteem for art in general.

Community projects are wonderful, wonderful ways to distract yourself from your super-cruel feelings, too! And if art trades or jams aren't your thing, maybe try some traditional exercises (blind contour, simple still life, colour studies) just to get some momentum up? I've been mixing in some of my favourite things to draw (sneakers, plants, slices of cakes, goofy animal things) and it helps get me going for work on my comics. Anything silly you like to draw?

But yo, I'm sorry you're feeling especially down about your art. You're definitely not alone in this! We'll get over the slump, man, all my respect to you!

[zetina]

I like @AnnaLandin's advice. Especially if you've been dilligent about it. In general, artists tend to dislike their own work even when they might adore pieces of about the same level done by a different person. It all comes down to the artist being so intricately familiar with how they get to the finished image and seeing their own style constantly; it's sickening. So, yeah, I think you need a break, ha-ha~ You can still do exercises like drawing just straight lines or curves to train your hand if you're worried. Or doodle something bad on purpose.

I don't think I've been in such a state... Mostly 'cuz I have had long periods of not drawing much. I recall having a feeling like that at one point but idr how I came to be ok again;;;

[gnekomikero]

i gonna roll in the floor like a baby! so much frustrated.

[monotone_ink]

Make better art

[Damatris]

Thank you so much for replies! <3

@AnnaLandin Yeah, I'm kinda glad I stepped away this time. I'm really bad at taking breaks so I hope that this will resolve a big part of the problem. At least I got to sleep like 13 hours last night so it can't have been a total waste. xD Oh, I haven't lost the love at all. Which makes this even more frustrating as I have this constant itch to draw but when I try it doesn't end well. Kinda like scratching at a mosquito bite, first it helps, then you scratch too hard and then you're hurting and itching. :') ugh, I hate mosquitos.

@christinaeliz Sorry to hear you too are on the same loop. :< I totally agree. We are our biggest critics. Which is both good and bad. Bad in this case I guess. Oh yeah, usually seeing my crappy old art actually cheers me up because there's something wonderful seeing a piece done 10 years ago that I was proud of back in the day and then looking at something recently made. The difference in skills is huge. Which makes it exciting to think how things are going to look like 10 years from now.

@aronthemason Heh, I actually dislike how clay feels most of the time. xD But pounding things can be very therapeutic.

@phenylketonurics I hope you'll get out of the funk soon too! :<
Doing crappy things on purpose could really help. There would be no pressure to make anything look like... well... anything. xD Community projects are lots of fun too usually so I might look for those too.

@zetina It's definitely easier to love other people's art. Like you said, we are so close to the process with our own that it's hard to separate all the "shoulds" and "woulds" from the final piece. I think I'll do some mindless (bad) doodling to ease myself back into the groove. With something that I can't erase. If I mess up then, it will be final and I won't be able to keep polishing it. And yeah, I hope the break is what I needed. I usually work for hours everyday so maybe this is just a SOS for break. At least I got a lot of sleep out of this.

@gnekomikero Rolling on floor can be fun. Or maybe it's just me...

@monotone_ink Now, THAT is a masterpiece

[zetina]

You're an overworker, but you're a smart cookie so you'll be fine, I think B) Just rest.

[Damatris]

...Overworker part might be true, I guess... :'D

[KSlinger]

I flip my table and draw people kissing or something. That usually does the trick.

[R.n.P]

Strive to get better after looking at my inspiration Bleach.

[BlackMantaStudios]

I dunno man I mean my art's pretty fab.
^Exhibit A.

Well, really, I don't know how well it'll work with you but I either eat chocolate or drink coffee, then sitting down to work again. Of course, if that doesn't cut it, I take a nap.

[demthorshie]

I hide the old art that i'm not satisfied with anymore and work on ways to improve my current style. I've been through this phase many times and I think it's necessary for me when it comes to improving my skills over time.

[RewindLabs]

You either go against it, or take a break. Naturally, people tend to take breaks and see their 'stagnancy' as a sign of overwork etc.

I guess when you reach that stage, it's a reminder that you stopped 'leaning'.. That you think you're good enough. Even I feel that way at times.

Personally, I forced myself to focus more on skills intensively. I mean if you don't need to socialize much and if you're doing well in life, you can afford to use your free time to improve yourself instead of resting, but that's just how I work.

No matter how hard you try,
You will never like your work.
You will never appreciate your work.

But then again, it's not just about you.
It's not just for you.

Find out why you consider yourself a creator.
Are you creating just for yourself, or are you doing it for a reason?

[DTSaranya]

Remind yourself that what might look awful to you looks great to someone else.

I feel bad about my drawing skill all the time. Visual art was never meant to be a career for me, so I never really studied it, and the difference in skill level in comparison to other artists shows.

But sometimes, when I revisit the old deviantart galleries of people I thought were AMAZING when I was younger and realize that I'm now at about their level, I realize that to someone else, my stuff probably looks really good. It's comforting.

[iddqd]

Know the feeling all too well. Best I can offer is: sometimes it is okay to take a step back and regroup. Identify the exact technical aspects of your art that you're unhappy with, then focus on fixing them, one at a time and a bit every time.
Sometimes it takes asking for feedback from an outsider's perspective. Sometimes it's helpful if they give you honest, not-blowing-smoke-up-you-rear feedback. It's unpleasant to hear, but if more than one person you asked mentioned it, maybe there's something to it.
And then you practice and drill whatever area you identified as a priority till your hands fall off, by using manuals, or photo/life drawing, or both, and then you will get better. The only wrong move here I see is to stop drawing altogether because of the inner critic. Like, screw that guy.

[Damatris]

Thank you all for your answers!

@demthorshie Usually the opposite works for me. Old art normally reminds me how far I've gotten since then. but yeah, I guess this really is a phase that everyone goes through once in a while.

@RewindLabs

You either go against it, or take a break. Naturally, people tend to take breaks and see their 'stagnancy' as a sign of overwork etc.
I guess when you reach that stage, it's a reminder that you stopped 'leaning'.. That you think you're good enough.

That definitely isn't the problem I'm facing. I can't remember a time when I've thought that I'm "good enough, no need to learn anything new" since I was 13 (years and years ago). If anything, I've got the opposite, "nothing's good enough, ever" problem. Even if I intellectually know that I have been improving, I just don't feel like it. I also think I legit might have been overworking myself lately like was suggested, as I've been pulling 6 - 10 hour days with minimal breaks 7 days a week. And I have figured out why I'm doing this.

But thanks for your perspective! I do agree that it's good and important to focus on skill improvement.

@DTSaranya That is kinda comforting thought.

@iddqd I think that's what I need to do after I give myself a little time off to regain the energy.

[SethJH]

If anything, I've got the opposite, "nothing's good enough, ever" problem.

I actually remember watching a video that discussed this. It was about artist's block, and talked about how as you progress your art skills, your "taste" grows separate from your "hand". (I think the video I linked is the one I watched. It was a few years ago and I can only remember he had a line graph analogy).

"Taste" is your understanding about light/form/anatomy/etc... as a concept (so you can notice quality or lack thereof in other artists' work). Your taste grows as you expand your knowledge and look at more art. You learn what looks right and what looks wrong, and how to pick it out more accurately.

Your "Hand" is your physical ability to put the concepts to paper. Sometimes the hand skills lag behind the taste skills and it takes a while to catch up, leaving you feeling unsatisfied with your own artwork because your tastes are better than your current skill level.

The only real way to improve your "hand" skills is to just keep practicing. Try drawing things in a different style, draw a new subject, or use a medium you're unfamiliar with. I've experience this feeling several times, and like some of the others here, I toss my old embarrassing art in the closet to never see it again. It's only part of growing as an artist. But sometimes it's good to keep the old stuff around to see where you've made mistakes that you can learn from- also, you might be surprised at what kinds of ideas you had back then.