How perfectionism ruined my art career + yours too

[@shadowknife333]

I DESPERATELY needed to hear this because I've been struggling with being a perfectionist since I'm a beginner artist and I've been struggling with drawing for a long time 💔

[@TheArtMentor]

Sorry to hear my friend, but you'll grow through it with more time! What advice do you want to start applying from this video?

[@shadowknife333]

@TheArtMentor I'm not sure I'll probably have to watch the video again 😅

[@rolibero1]

this came just in time! been stuck in a piece all week trying to paint the face, literally had to cover it so I can focus on the other parts lol. great tips, thank you for the video!

[@TheArtMentor]

Great to hear that worked! How did the artwork turn out?

[@thatfishbone]

My "ugly phase" is definitely the inking before I add color ;w; As for struggles with perfectionism I have a people pleasing issue so I can't seem to even escape the perfectionism in my professional work.

[@TheArtMentor]

That's an interesting realization. Are you afraid people online won't like it?

[@mcherry_610]

I'm currently training myself to not overthink and overwork so up close to the canvas. So far it works well

[@TheArtMentor]

Oh that's a goodie! It's hard to train yourself to zoom out more isn't it? haha

[@inferno6012]

screw feelings screw energy. man i really needed to hear that. also thinking about it will do nothing also 30 min thing. and that drawing not turning out the way you wanted/ turning ugly ugly stage.

[@TheArtMentor]

Glad to hear that helped! It's kind of our natural instinct to think we should always give into our first thoughts or feelings isn't it? Even though those are usually self-sabotaging

[@rebeccap476]

I learn so much from your videos and how to shift my mindset. Your delivery and content are fantastic! I look forward to watching you grow as a channel.

[@TheArtMentor]

Wow thanks so much for your kindness! I'm thrilled to have your support and I look forward to speaking with you more here!

[@ReiShs]

Art definitely taught me to let go a bit and accept flaws. I am still nowhere close to just wing it, but the frustration motivated me to learn to be more efficient.

[@TheArtMentor]

That's awesome how you flipped that feeling to motivate yourself! Do you have specific goals you're focusing on as well?

[@ReiShs]

@TheArtMentor right now, it is the anatomy, especially hands. I wasted a lot of time trying to fix it, which leads to frustration and often art blocks and pieces gathering dust on the virtual shelf (worst case, 102h on a piece). I accepted the fact that I do not have the skill to fix things that are wrong and just let it be while trying to build in practice now and then. I also rely more on references now - it helps a lot.

[@ElijahPaint-x1z]

Once again, thank you for this excellent advice and strategies!

[@TheArtMentor]

Glad to hear it helped! Have you struggled with this before?

[@HannahMorenDraws]

I'm a perfectionist with everything... For commission work I want to make it good enough to add to my portfolio to show to new clients. For homework I want it to be portfolio level work (but I DO let some projects go if I think it doesn't align...) For personal work I want it to also look "portfolio level" and it can be hard to start or "find the time." Lately I have been beating myself up the most about a magazine commission because it is coming out not as well as I had hoped considering I've gone back to school for 2 semesters... I thought i'd see my "style" come through or "progress" in my work flow - but I'm still struggling.

[@TheArtMentor]

So what did you learn in this video to help you with that? It seems like your focus on portfolio-level work is causing you more confusion than clarity

[@ClacksonHale]

Fuck me, I mused just the other day on the way to work that I'm scared of doing things I like to do. Huh. Hearing you say it, too, was really quite something. Thanks, man.

[@TheArtMentor]

Haha my pleasure! You're not a weirdo for it alright? haha

[@ProfessorSpacecakes]

My "ugly phase" is absolutely the flat colors. I don't know what it is, but I always hate my flat colors and it sparks panic every time. I then have to convince myself to trust the process of shading/rendering to turn it around.

[@TheArtMentor]

Is it the flatness that turns you off to that phase in the process?

[@ProfessorSpacecakes]

@@TheArtMentor I don't think it is. I see other people's flats and they look just fine to me, but mine just look ugly to my eye. I would happily show off any other stage of the piece except that one. It just looks unfinished, where I could reasonably stop at any other stage (sketch, inks, full render) and it feels finished for a piece intended to be that stage.

[@fumoshi1]

I did commissions in the past, and I became perfectionist with the comms, it was like "I can't mess this, this is the REAL THING" When doing personal things I or when I draw for others, for free, I allow myself to experiment more, I allow myself to fail

[@TheArtMentor]

That's interesting how you're experiencing the opposite effect of what most experience. Are you still taking commissions?

[@fumoshi1]

@@TheArtMentor not at the moment , I hope to open it again someday

[@dajdalos211]

Thank you so much for this friend

[@TheArtMentor]

My pleasure! What helped you the most in this video?

[@SpookyPandaGirl]

After base colours and when I start applying shadows I HAAATE it But I learned a new approach 😊

[@TheArtMentor]

Haha SAME HERE! I usually have to desensitize myself to the process for a while

[@サタニストアモルファス]

I still don't understand how skilled artists can make art in 1 hour Is it only experiense? Or something else too?

[@scawydemon]

Experience, managing perfectionism, and a time saving workflow You'll learn eventually!

[@msartsy]

A more specific answer would be not zooming in (or do it less) and learning efficient brush strokes. At least thats how its been for me. Not exactly one hour, but you focus on creating the bigger picture than staring at the details.

[@SadClown-q1n]

@zrevival3818 I still don't get it either. Sure I can get a basic outline of what I want relatively quickly, but then adding shading and details is incredibly time consuming for me as an amateur. I use the mindset of "If it looks right, it's right" and I study art, but I still have to guess sometimes. Which means undoing mistakes. Sometimes you also try something and it just looks terrible the first time so you do it over 1-2 times and usually 3rd time is the charm. I try my best not to get to caught up on details but they still need to be there. Idk, I can make some good looking art, but it takes me like 4 days.

[@SadClown-q1n]

@@victorvaz3693 Thanks for the advice!

[@Scragg-]

once you do something the same way about 100-1000 times, you become much faster at it.

[@mutecryptid]

“Screw your feelings and screw your energy, that’s just resistance”: I say as I skip all meals and stay up 36 hours to draw non-stop and make negative progress 💀 Anyway, perfect timing, I just finished The War of Art and this was the capstone I needed.

[@TheArtMentor]

Well that might be a bit extreme huh? haha. Take care of yourself my friend

[@TylPhumin]

Personally i feel, my problem is, that i don't care for the process (like i dont LIKE drawing, or whatever type of creation im doing), al I want is to translate ideas into a form for others to see (sharing), so i suck at everything, specially line art (which includes anatomy, dynamic, and the line itself), so i can see from the beginning that it will never look even close how i want it too.. so i will want to finish it fast, thus obviously it will be even sloppier, and if it takes too long and i need to sleep, once ive stopped, there is no motivation to go back to, as it's sht anyways and can't even begin to convey what i want it too. Am i the only one, who doesn't care about the process but about the result only? I dont wanna be good at it or get better at it, for the sake of being good at it, or feeling great about being good at it, its just a means to an end to me.

[@msartsy]

@@TylPhumin Dont mean to sound rude, but why do you want to be an artist? And why end result only? Felt similar in my earlier years of digital art where I only cared for the end piece only. The result of that is constant burnout cuz I constantly hated what Im doing only for a momentary pleased reaction of the end result. Later on i learned how to enjoy the process by learning traditional again from scratch.

[@Sokolva]

Why choose art as a way to express your ideas? Did you ever enjoy it? There are many forms of art that are created through very different processes. For instance I’m a writer but I do art as a means to illustrate my work and I enjoy the creative exercise of visualizing my world in a new way and having to put it specifically to paper visually instead of through words. It’s often very inspiring even if the art I get out of it didn’t museum quality or sellable and just hangs out for me as part of my work on the story. Is art just a job to you now, to make money, and so it’s become a drag? There are other much more reliable jobs that give more reliable satisfaction than art if you don’t enjoy it. Speaking from experience. If you don’t enjoy the process and never enjoyed it because you are such a perfectionist that you have a negative connection to creativity then that’s probably a lot of years of self-flagellation and toxicity towards yourself that you can work on and unlearn. Otherwise why not try other forms of self expression and see if you feel joy or run into the same problems.

[@TheArtMentor]

Have you considered that's a huge problem with your mindset towards artmaking?