When you aren't good enough

[@rozmarinideas5340]

What do you do when you have nothing, no experience, even when you should, and you try and try but never improve? Asking for an enemy.

[@Spots_Racer]

Same

[@vergilcold1167]

You realize life is not fair nor equal and find something else

[@Aggelosyea]

use refrences to improve (people who say that doesnt imrpove u are wrong cuz u cant draw or imrprove smthng if u dont know how it looks like)

[@mohamadashrafsazali7042]

Drawing, programming, and most things are hard. Just do what you can and enjoy the journey. We live in a fast society nowadays, so try to chill and take it slow

[@francescafrancesca3554]

What I've heard is to produce your own things.

[@Sephylis-tl4ll]

The feeling of not being good enough or impostor syndrome hits me from time time. It sucks and hard to get rid of.

[@meganphipps4648]

Yeah we have anxieties owo

[@torra9979]

Honestly? Yeah. In my experience (personally speaking now), I only got better because I truly started to come to terms with my quirks and my issues. I finally came to understand that no, nobody should expect the world out of you and your work, and no, you shouldn’t let your creativity and motive die just because they want to squander you for one mistake. When you start truly accepting yourself and your vision, that’s when it comes together. That’s when you can finally embrace criticism and positivity without feeling like your life could be forever altered by it.

[@Scarshadow666]

Very true!

[@sonoio869]

If you are still going at school try to think way less about it. The competition is fierce

[@pattamahomrod]

I needed to hear this! Thank you so much.

[@himignicest1571]

1:29 "It feels like a gut to a punch" -Toniko Pantoja 2024

[@KittRidgeway]

If you keep on learning and growing, then really there's no such thing as failures. Only lessons.

[@princessthyemis]

omg this is excellent!!!! thank you!

[@alicebenson8512]

Early on after I graduated. I definitely felt like I wasn't good enough, whenever I applied for a job. But as I've gotten older, ive learned to love and forgive myself for who I am. And overtime, ive learned through my time playing sports, to use my lessons and these learning moments as fuel to go and prove these anxieties and nay sayings wrong.

[@Artistic_Storm]

I used to draw almost every day for a few years. Its been a few months since ive really gotten into that zone again, and has been a little discouraging when i look at all my piles of work in progress drawings over the years. I feel it was something that truly made me happy along with sharing it with others. I hope i can find that spark and enthusiasm again.

[@Shwychu]

You know this was great timing. I just had stupid stuff happen to me outta this and I feel bad abandoning something I spent 2 years on but I learned a lot about people, fake friends in my now gone art circle I know I'm a extremely slow learner and this video really helped me pick myself up from a bad failure. Thank you for making this it applies to a lot

[@zaphill4346]

I get the being the guy people look up to man. I struggled so much in college than in high school. When i saw others move onward and i "lagged" behind. I got negative responses from family, wondering what is going on, people out ny family wondering how was life while i was trying to find a general job. I felt SO LOW in life. But things got better, jobs came and went and im here. I learned, really, a lot about myself as I reflected on my life. And those hardships truly made things MUCH clearer than before. Thanks Toniko for this video. -Blessings

[@Roseate]

Thanks for mentioning people struggling to get into art school. I've gotten rejected by my dream animation school twice already and I'm so scared to apply again soon. It's really hard especially when you don't get any feedback to know what you can work with. To anyone going through this too, we got this and we will get there!!

[@dreams_of_gaia]

I'm the opposite of you, a very fast learner; if I am given the chance, I can learn just about anything extremely fast and put it into practice. But then my social skills are so terrible that getting those chances are near impossible. So to me the hardest part of everything is actually getting the chances to learn and improve myself, I'm always filled with rejection letters from teachers, universities, peers, work opportunities, simply because I can't communicate well. Lacking so much on basic social skills is so frustrating!! So it really doesn't matter if you are slow at learning or not, be sure to work on those social skills, those are even more important!!

[@Primo_Studios]

The best advice i got from someone that helped me keep going was , "F*CK YOUR FEELINGS AND KEEP MOVING FORWARD"

[@princessthyemis]

"Give yourself the right to keep going." Love it!

[@ayrtonenrique4447]

It is difficult to have a positive mentality when you see all the talent on the internet, you are 29 years old and it intimidates you to see 18 year olds surpass you with great ease. It doesn't make you angry that they surpass you, but rather that you feel that to achieve your dream you should have started learning much earlier.

[@paperplanejane]

The only time we have is now!!!

[@sonoio869]

You are totally right. Goddamn it is good knowing I am not alone. There has never been meritocracy even in working to your passion. Art is still a privilege only a few can master but many enough to make you useless by comparison.

[@ayrtonenrique4447]

@@sonoio869 Nope, you didn't understand my point at all. There is no such thing as "innate talent that only a few have and you can never match." What does exist are people who began to develop that skill earlier. My frustration is not that a boy 10 years younger draws better than me It comes from feeling that I would be at the same level if I had started earlier.

[@sonoio869]

​@@ayrtonenrique4447well, sometimes it is not your fault you didn't start earlier. I hated myself for that same reason but actually I didn't have a choise, maybe that was the same for you

[@caelinart]

We all have our own timelines. It doesn’t matter if you reach your goal at an age of 29 or 18. in the end the journey is what makes life livable. Try to achieve your dreams in your lifetime. There is enough time to do so. In the end Skills matter, not age. We all grow up differently. The only way of feeling sad should be, when you give up. You‘re allowed to fail. You have to fail, but always stand up. I can imagine that when you reach 40, you would still be the same guy in your head as if you were with 18. 💚 you got this. Don’t blame yourself and leave the past in the past. Focus on the present. (Present= gift)

[@Spikecitrus]

I really needed some inspirations today, as I have been feeling down lately. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Toniko

[@CrownePrince]

Geeze by the second rejection from the same school I'd just be like, FU and apply to a different one. If I wanted school I'd rather be in it *now* than struggling to get specific name-brand bragging rights.

[@Gigzmcgeezie]

Had this exact experience working on a fan project. I'm still friends with some the people who weren't toxic but I hope I never work with the rest of them again. I needed to watch this.

[@Aggelosyea]

it's the worst when u feel like u aren't good enough when that happens to me i just quit for a few days and then come back which is kinda not the best :C

[@_HanaPanda]

This is what happens to me as well. And I'm not improving because of it. 😢 which then sends me down the same road again and again.

[@beautyfulh]

Thats perfectly fine, as long as you dont quit!! Taking breaks from art can help you improve!! If you continue to do art as you stress, it wont do you any good. (speaking from experience!) Please dont ever give up on your dream :(

[@-ReynardFox]

I get that feeling a lot but I always remember a quote from Orson Welles, if its applicable, hopefully it helps some of you. "I didn’t know what you couldn’t do. I didn’t deliberately set out to invent anything. It just seemed to me, ‘Why not?’ There is a great gift that ignorance has to bring to anything, you know. That was the gift I brought to [Citizen] Kane… ignorance."

[@noodle1606]

Love the things you talk about, it's down to earth and to the point. It may not be the things people want to hear from all levels but it's something we all need to hear to understand and learn more about ourselves/ I also love the shorter lengths of the videos instead of hour-long videos that take forever to get to the point haha.

[@ReveliaJ]

Im so scared of not being good enough that I've lost the strength to even try

[@0ia]

So you're not scared of not being good enough if you don't try, even though it's more true?

[@ReveliaJ]

@0ia I think its avoiding the chances of getting confirmed im not good enough. That way it could, in a way, still be untrue, even tho it also means it will always be true

[@0ia]

@@ReveliaJ I look to creatives like Hayao Miyazaki (there are cool documentaries of him) to see the mindset that leads to success. There's self doubt, but he uses it differently than you

[@Sketch-An1]

Really hit close to home for me. Thanks for making this

[@murilo_c]

I need to hear this in this moment I'm facing right now. Focusing so much at my failures and not reconizing my own work. It's pretty hard

[@MadisonsPaintBrush]

I got rejected from an early career program and it's made me feel a little hopeless I think , I'm not sure what I did wrong or what I couldn't done better, this video really spoke to me thank you

[@mastafran]

Most the stuff I learn about leaving my comfort zone is that I should never leave it because it all flat out sucks and no one likes it. The only time I ever get attention is when I'm pigeon-holed to the same crap. I'm a failure as an artist.

[@interruptingPreempt]

Dunno whether this advice will help, but... (takes breath) Going out of your comfort zone can make you a beginner again. You know what mastery can feel like, and not having mastery over the new thing is uncomfortable and hard. Your audience may be unknowledgeable or unsupportive because it is out of their comfort zone, too. You may need to start building an audience for the new extensions of your work. It's normal that not all fans of someone's older works will follow them into their newer works, but a stagnant artist tends to leave oneself frustrated and miserable, and ultimately their audience bored. Go do the new things and go suck at them. Give yourself space to have fun in that fail zone, because playing in that zone is how you grow.

[@eemapso]

The timing of this one is wild for me lol. Learning to love myself is something i hadnt thought i needed to do, until i realized i didnt. Im taking this as one of msny signs i need to chsnge my way of thinking Thank you gor yhis dialogue and advice. It provides alot to think about.

[@aun7106]

Part of "avoid generalization" hits me hard. I had bad experiences in art community. I thought everyone would despise me for my mistakes, while in reality there might be another crowd who's willing to welcome me with open arms. Anyway I just realized that my style is heavily influenced by yours, Toniko. I don't even consciously study it, I just watch the footage a lot. Owning a youtube channel is indeed a big deal...

[@HoboNoah]

Blame isn't an emotion, it's an action. Blame is a very common tactic to alleviate emotional pain. Also, just wanted to say that I honestly think self love, self worth and even pride are actually specific neural pathways firing off. You can sit there and tell yourself you love yourself over and over without that circuit ever firing, I did that for 2 years and it pushed me closer to psychosis, it actually turned out to be a few steps backwards. Someone whose managed to cause that circuit to light up repeatedly to the point where it's second nature isn't fully capable of knowing what life is like without it, because it's an automatic and totally subconscious thing that's changed at their core. Even their memories of life before they learned to do this are all going to be painted in a rose tint because of this. And the same is true for people who never or only rarely manage to get that path to fire off. We can cite all the verbal mantras and check all the self-care boxes without feeling a breakthrough. Because self-love, self-worth and pride, these things are learned, and it's not really about the terminology, it's about the wordless cocktail of brain signals and hormones that humans experience and have given the aforementioned labels. Those words are labels to describe things, they are not keys to experience those things. In normal circumstances they are taught, during childhood. It's a kind of inner-sense that I'd say the great majority of all spoken or written language fails to explain. And it's one of those things that doesn't get appropriate recognition for how difficult is actually is to teach to yourself, as an adult. I think while most happy people mean well, they don't put enough thought into it. I'm sure some simply don't know and don't care to.

[@euphatari]

I really needed this video right now as I’m struggling my way through my second year of art school… thank you!

[@robertocorona4865]

Mister, your fine. continue your channel and thanks for the sharing experience. 🙂

[@catzilla2248]

As I've journeyed through my anxieties, I learned there's just really an aspect of uncomfortable uncertainty to accept. Sometimes you really just have to have faith in where you're headed even if you don't got a clue on where it'll lead or, its not looking like much, and feels diminishing Improvement never made sense to me because of that but once I decided to let go of the end result and have faith for the process, I've noticed how much you really do discover and learn that just makes no sense to the conscious level The patience required of your craft and yourself is painful and, sometimes seemingly impossible but you just have to hold the faith and embrace the unknown. You'll come to understand what you don't know if you dont try to rush it and don't shame yourself for not knowing. It makes no sense to a conscious level but give it time and patience and you'll see what it'll mean later You just gotta have faith in the process ❤

[@Taz_OverAllAnimation]

I always blame myself for not doing the right thing ( the right way or right time). I love to learn, love challenges and get better over time but without feedback or socializing with the right people it feels like times wasted. Being skilled alone does not make the cut and luck as well as the right network play a massive role.

[@tazoolnynx3947]

1:30 "It feels like a gut to the punch."

[@enji6460]

this video come to me when i was applying for jobs left and right in the art field, being considered old or not enough. im watching the video, reading the comments and get motivated again

[@atomheart7907]

This advice and stories are poiniant for many things other than art thank you this helped me alot rn

[@noodletin7090]

I'm currently struggling with my academic trauma and impostor syndrome while I do my capstone project haha. I really needed this, thank you.

[@interruptingPreempt]

To be perfectly honest, I was having a hard time focusing on your words. I was just so delighted that you were drawing the sprite child from Secret of Mana.

[@zouskon]

i needed this, thank you.

[@GuppyWas4me]

I LOVE YOUR WORK SO MUCH and its quite relatable too

[@andygayat5pm]

I am autistic, I had mistreatment since I was like really young by my parents, brother, teachers, students and people I didn't even know. I am getting an ADHD assessment at 14, I struggle with complex mental health issues due to trauma etc. Life is horrible, loving yourself is hard but whenever you feel proud of yourself, that's loving yourself and even if you'll never know me personally just remember whenever you feel proud know that a lot of people would be proud of you for loving yourself, even if it's no one you belive In your life at the moment it's always going to be somewhere yk you belong.

[@Skull19O1]

damn perfect timing bro im a good artist but aint got that ambition no more.

[@heyimrom]

going through the feeling rn while in school for animation after a crazy interaction with someone on a film challenge

[@chellastation]

I needed this video. Thank you

[@Jim87_36]

“The day you learn to love yourself…” oh so never then… got it

[@stryfe8959]

Hang in there...

[@yannalixe1852]

I'm french have very bad english write but i know you trip and i want you speak good luck brother , you cool and i stay wait for you because you stronger!

[@2-tone989]

A gut to the punch 😂. I know what you ment though lol

[@WspiDigits]

Thank you man...

[@jadesola_artist4041]

Just what I needed to hear

[@malaquill]

Good video! Wondering what to do if you're constantly working on your skills but struggling to see results - I've tried to seek out feedback and critique, but a lot of the advice I receive just isn't helpful and it's become a huge source of frustration.

[@Haregue]

Ahh yes, the infamous gut to the punch lol

[@viperguru2547]

Literally feel like I’m not good enough 24/7 and it makes me so suicidal and afraid of art

[@RetroGhost16]

1:31 yeah I hate it when I get that feeling of a Gut to the Punch. (Im not trying to be mean about grammar I just found this sentence funny. If anything I like it being there)

[@MarkyVigoroth]

Prequel: 'When you are a good artist'

[@mikeyokite]

What should I do if I feel like I'm never good enough no matter how hard I try? Like I keep getting rejected, nobody looks at my work, it's just bad luck all the time.

[@H1dront390]

At this time. I actually keep getting mad that I can't discipline myself to the point where I would punch myself, and keep asking what's wrong with me. I'm fine for now, I don't plan to result in self harm. I just want to know what's wrong with me...

[@kaleidopixels7451]

If you routinely fail executive functioning tasks (discipline, essentially) it could be ADHD You might have lived your whole life thinking you were doing to yourself when there is a pill that just makes your brain work. Worth checking out at least, especially just hearing how exasperated you are at the situation.

[@kaleidopixels7451]

I used to think my brain was broken, I was suicidal because I didn't feel in control of my actions no matter how much I felt like I was trying. That's ADHD, babyy

[@H1dront390]

@@kaleidopixels7451 I want to agree, But the thing is that I don't know if I even have a disorder which is what I want to do but its too expensive especially if I'm a student trying to survive... If you have something to help me with without pills please give me the info. I'm actually desperate at this point.

[@terraopg8259]

I saw Dusks Flight .... I clicked.... instantly.

[@Blitzura]

Who is this char / what is this project @5:32!!!!!! 😍 They look gorgeous and so fun!! Thank you for posting these videos of advice / personal experiences Toniko! I've been following you ever since my uni lecturer introduced us to your videos way back in 2015 and always found your channel so inspiring to watch and listen to throughout my early storyboarding career! 🥰

[@leatherDarkhorse]

i got into impostor syndrome all the time, recently got layoff over ai again really bugging me.

[@DavvyKat]

Poor doggo in the thumbnail 😢

[@OwnyOne]

What do I do if I need to succeed in a big way right now because I'm getting older and can't lose anymore time

[@carel_dfx]

When someone says You're not good enough, blame to AI pseudo-artists 🙃

[@user-10021]

And who’s art is the AI made of? Another artist with skills higher than yours. This is just another game of pointing fingers in hatred and desperation

[@MochiKyo018]

​@@user-10021that's because ai art steals dataset from the artist shamelessly. So, yeah I would blame them. Artists who made bad art are still better than so-called "ai artists."

[@ChukiTheErmine]

@@MochiKyo018 True

[@user-10021]

@@MochiKyo018 No company would hire someone with worse art just because „But I made it myself!“ Work on yourself instead of trying to blame others man You also wouldn’t hire a terrible baker, you would instead buy a good looking mass made cake from walmart

[@MochiKyo018]

@@user-10021only greedy companies would use ai art because it is cheaper and faster like you said. I'm not blaming it but some artists do have reasons to dislike it. Ai is unable to create something original as it steals and learns from other artists. At the end of the day, people would prefer quality over quantity. Because y'know ai art isn't that good compared to actual artists work?

[@SaranaX]

me when gut to a punch

[@HlaAmrAdel]

Truely feeling that you are a failure, it somehow like you are NOT able to do anything WELL and you are not able to do this even for yourself and others and the most painful part.... Is where people make FUN of it and telling you horrible comments on even the simplest mistake as what you said Because people LOVE waiting others to make a mistake and comment and giving you NOTES at it and NOT PAYING ATTENTION to the good that you made Which the only way to fix where you feel you are not good enough is to.. NOT COMPARING YOURSELF with others =========================== Which this TOTALLY makes you feel LESS and somehow you feel jealous sometimes which NEVER do that and what is important is to focus what are the things i can fix just like you said and avoid any NEGATIVES " FOCUS ON YOURSELF" ====================== Which i know how horrible it feels but try with all your efforts in being better than ever or discover that you are a WELL and BRILLIANT artist/person 😊😊😊😊😊 And knowing that from people recommendations and their encouragement and their admiration ❤❤❤❤❤❤ Which i want to say we must support what is WORTH to support and support what is truly GOOD and DESERVE it Which i hope you will develop way better And by the way you are a good animator! And i hope you have a good day 😊😊😊😊😊 (Apologies for my long comment or if there is any off of what i said)

[@Daltoons_]

How do you deal with negative self talk and feeling like youre not good enough and not feeling motiavted when working with people who are better than you ? This is a problem ive been struggling with for a while now i was hoping to see if youve also had this situation before

[@achronos178]

Im there right now 6 years in the industry still means nothing not hireable

[@Tigerbro6]

are you the voice of Chill from Brew?

[@oreosaregood2142]

Shit I was never good in the first place

[@JPEGTOMUSIC]

Ever heard Failure by Swans, Toniko?

[@NGXzol]

Such a great song, it's awesome to see a fellow S W A N S fan here!

[@Sacrifice_dream]

I think to buy your course sir but i am little bit afraid bcuz price of others courses is high but in my budget i can afford yours and my family don't support that much for animation so there is no chance of going animation school so if i buy your course and do practice myself then can i reach at intermediate or advance lvl animation or not plz tell and if i have any doubt in course then how is you solve that is there any group for members to solve doubt??? PLZ REPLY

[@EdenSandersArt]

There’s a lot of good info here, but you talk way too fast! The editing of this video doesn’t give me time to let any of the information sink in , there’s no “breathers”

[@RisingJake]

Look at yourself in the mirror, and imagine that, looking back at you, is six year old you as a child, confused and uncertain about the world. Look right at your child-self and say, "I will never leave you. I will always be here." Did I cry when I did this? Oh yeah. Try it out sometime.