You'll never be a good enough artist.

[@Medenmath]

I found the point about "real art" being defined as paid work, and what this would say about Van Gogh, particularly striking.

[@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan]

anything can be art, depends on intent.

[@mickeyg7219]

That's why I don't really differentiate between "real" and "not real" arts, it's just that not every person on Earth are aware of the existence of your artwork. There are people that consider your art to be the style they're looking for and some might even pay you to have it.

[@Trevin_Taylor]

I’ve been paid to repaint a house. That was paid painting but not art.

[@scaredyfish]

I've always preferred a very broad definition of art that includes just about anything created by people. After all 'art' and 'artificial' are from the same root. We can then focus on the aesthetic and other merits of the thing rather than trying to draw arbitrary lines.

[@kathleenwoods8416]

Honestly, I feel there equally as many borders between that which is as there is for what isn't. There are people willing to argue that the possibility of natural talent is important or that personal development over time makes other skills not, but I've known people with a 'natural talent' for supposed non-artistic tasks and at the same time I've never known of an artist without a wealthy development history. If getting paid for it was the only factor than I've seen pipework under my sink that's at least said something about that notion.

[@dagonpoint]

Credentials: I am an artist and art-educator with over 30 years of experience. You have made one of the best (if not these best) art video I have ever seen. You have distilled a lifetime of hard-won art lessons into a perfect primer. I wish I could play this on a loop for all of my students. Thank you. Thank you.

[@jeanettethomas5806]

I'm a fine artist with a BA in studio art and I fully agree! Bravo to Thought Slime!

[@TahtahmesDiary]

I am a story quilter and poet with zero professionally trained skills and I can’t stop listening …I so wish I had this video in high school, but I’m grateful I have it now.

[@muticere]

I’m currently thinking of a way to show this video to my daughter who loves to draw but gets discouraged when it doesn’t look the way she wants. I think this could help put it in perspective.

[@Darkthestral1]

Reminder that you can create art and show no one. Art can be just for you. Stories, paintings, embroidery, silly little gifs, you can make them just for yourself and never show a single person. Or you can show your partner, best friend, parents someone close to you who knows you as a person. You don't have to share art online to be valid or enjoy the creation process

[@Bluecho4]

You can, in fact, be that one member of the family who lives a mostly normal-seeming life. Only for you to eventually die, and the relatives rifle through your possessions like vultures. And they find, amid all the detritus of life, sketchbooks filled with illustrations, or journals full of prose, or hard drives full of photos you took. You can show your work off while you're alive. Or you can let it be a pleasant surprise after you've kicked it. Both are equally valid.

[@ND-nr6mx]

​@Bluecho4 fill a secret notebook with salacious Tony the Tiger content and leave it to be found after my death, got it

[@RatPfink66]

@@Bluecho4 The great ones who did this were deeply wounded humans. Pathologically alienated and repressed. Henry Darger. A.G. Rizzoli. Vivian Maier. Ordinary, unschooled, working-class folks... _minus._ They had no social lives, and very little in the way of personal lives. They only hid their work because they hid themselves, and they hid themselves because the world was a terribly painful and lonely place for them. _And that is why they did their work, and what made their work great._ It took that alienation to give them the escape velocity that made them geniuses.

[@osirisatot19]

@@Bluecho4 Henry Darger is who I think of most when I think about that.

[@crinna]

" sucking at something is the first step in sort of being good at it" - Jake the dog

[@rossthepianist]

As a piano teacher, there's a phrase I like to say to my students: "The biggest difference between you and me is that I've messed up a few million more times than you've tried." Helps them realize that mistakes, and being terrible, are part of the learning process. I'm not good enough, never will be, but neither will anyone else.

[@RatPfink66]

That ought to put the guilt into them for life. Or is it possible you don't intend it that way? That's hard for me to grasp personally. I learned music from people who didn't think twice about handing out guilt or negativity. It was part of their work ethic.

[@nichtschwert3307]

I am only considered "an artist" because I once met some really cool people who were extremely supportive and pushed me to draw shitty anime doodles and asked me to see them. I am extremely sensitive to criticism. These kind, wonderful people got me over the initial hump and got me to believe in my ability to improve my proficiency. I hope they're doing well, wherever they are now. I make less-shitty anime doodles in their honor as well

[@apolloandwarrior_3229]

Same lol, I draw shitty anime style doodles and when I show people they're always so impressed even after I point out inconsistencies or issues. It really keeps me going as a shitty artist

[@hollandscottthomas]

Same. I was working a dead-boring job and would sketch little monsters and such, and eventually I just had people making requests so I would draw whatever weird thing they would come up with. Making other people happy with art really encouraged me to stick at it in my own time and improve.

[@kozy15x]

you need to toughen up to criticism if you want to be an artist.

[@nichtschwert3307]

@@kozy15x You do not need to listen to unwanted criticism. You should seek out criticism, sure. But there is a time and a place and criticism that snuffs out a beginner artist's will to create is bad criticism. Also why the hell are you commenting under a 6-month old comment? Are you so offended at the idea that we encourage people who draw cringey shit? The cringey shit phase is important and good actually.

[@kozy15x]

@@nichtschwert3307 when did I say anything about not drawing cringey shit? Sounds like you're sensitive about drawing cringey shit.

[@FreddieMicheli]

I heard someone say THIS WEEK that "the point of art is to make money, the 'enjoyment of art' is a nice by-product" and I haven't been able to stop crying. Edit: add a hyphen

[@andreaslind6338]

That is such SHIT. Art is so much more than that, it is entertainment, beauty, even trancendence. The only reason anyone thinks that is that the world has become so spiritualy sick with capitalism that everything just gets valued soles by the market. It is a sick way to think, and it is the root cause of why there is so much BAD, artless art out there, yet another repetitive song full of sex and empty of quality, yet another boring marvel movie, according to that way of thinking those things are good art because they make money, whereas in reality they are tras, and will be discarded soon anyway. No, art is truth, and beauty, and everything that makes life worth living, if it is meaningful, it is good, it is independiente of the market; art existed long before the market, and will exist long after the market is gone. It is only the souless, shortsighted and greedy ghouls that run more and more of the world seek to profit off of everything that think this way. They are wrong, and in time we will destroy them. Phew, that was a bit of a rant, but it realy annoys me when people think this, and give it credence.

[@damien678]

I've been doing art my whole life, my family expected me to be a gallery artist since I was young, and the kind of attitude you speak of is the most demotivating one I can think of in regards to art

[@SheeplessNW6]

At least you're not dead inside, unlike the person who said that

[@Praisethesunson]

We all know the point of art is to show people sitting on birthday cakes.

[@Ellie_deMayo]

I thinks that’s a bob iger quote. Or Micheal Isner? Definitely a CEO mentality.

[@guitarlover1204]

I think this video does something I've been feeling like is sorely needed in the art community for a while. It shatters this idea that "the grind" is the only way to get good at drawing As someone who is literally paid to draw every single day, it's one of the best art videos I've ever seen Thanks, Mildred

[@clottedscream]

“getting the poison out” is a startlingly accurate description of how it feels to draw

[@nerdywolverine8640]

me w writing

[@randomtinypotatocried]

Me with my sculptures

[@tristfall1]

ugh, this is implying that I really need to get this damn videogame that's been in my head for 3+ years now out of my brain. But complacency is so easy and only mildly crushing!!!

[@astraldragon5483]

The video made some good points but made no sense with the contradiction of bashing on people for being afraid/anxious about something they want to do (learn/improve at) but then goes on to explain how that fear/anxiety is largely a instilled in us (and how he understands the paralyzing fear) as part of a systemic problem/capitalism. As if unable to make up his mind over whether to blame the people who got **** on by capitalism, for being so afraid, or blame the systemic issues that caused that fear/anxiety.

[@clottedscream]

@@astraldragon5483 ok well as someone who’s been a visual artist my entire life i found his insights all very accurate, and if you want to bitch about this video you should make your own damn comment thread

[@starrykev]

"get the poison out" is probably the most encouraging art advice i've ever heard - it's not a "practice makes perfect!" there's no real expectation or pressure that comes with it other than just.. making the thing

[@RatPfink66]

but you have to make the thing even if it hurts like hell. and more often than not that process has to be repeated...while still hurting like hell.

[@synthgal1090]

unless you can't make the thing, in which case you're fucked.

[@thisgoestoeleven]

I'm a music teacher, and kids are always Wildly Impressed because I'm Really Good (proficient enough to play beginning repertoire easily) at All The Instruments (7 or 8 that are common in middle and high school bands, 2-3 that I've spent time studying and consider myself pro-level on). I tell them that I play [x instrument] well enough to make people who don't play it think I play it. I'm not *good* at clarinet, but I'm good *enough* at clarinet to play most anything I'd put in front of my middle schoolers without much issue. Jack of all trades, master of like 1 and a half.

[@Maurrokh]

I don't know if it was deliberate, but I just love how you capitalized some descriptors as if they were trademarked. Or like these situations happened so regularly that these shorthands emerged. My brain enjoyed that very much

[@sallybanner]

always loved my music teachers and their mad skills

[@AmberAmber]

❤❤

[@buranflakes]

Years ago I taught myself some basics of keyboards, namely how to play in key and basic chord structures, and I have had times where I'd be playing around on a piano at a thrift store or something and people tell me I'm good at it. Meanwhile all I'm doing is noodling around in E major lol. I get it though; however basic that is to me it there is still an amount of skill involved in doing that, and anyone learning a skill they enjoy is admirable to me

[@peternicholas3719]

Most of us are good at only one. Props!

[@mariannepradier2303]

People who hate artists, and take pleasure in insulting, exploiting and humiliating them, are people who abandoned their creative impulses, let others amputate them from that dream, or mutilated themselves to stop pursuing beauty and truth. I've met A LOT of them. They are wounded cowards. They are the mother of all red flags.

[@Dark_Jaguar]

Red flag? I mean... I wasn't about to date them... And isn't the ACTION what you call a red flag, not the person? The person is who the red flag is for, not what the red flag is.

[@Fr0stbite1801]

I feel sorry for them more than anything tbh. Because even though I really don't approve of that hatred towards artists, I understand where a lot of them come from. They've been told they don't have talent, that they should do something else and abandon artistic pursuits. They live with regret deep down. I've been there too.

[@mariannepradier2303]

@@Dark_Jaguar you can sense that resentment in conversations or choices they make during collaborations, and those are the red flags, you are right. And yes, I wasn't talking about dating, but the thing is, those people make up a lot of the art world you have to work with, unfortunately. Galerists, curators, critics... If you smell that rage, that despising glare, that urge to insult your work and savoure your reaction, just run. They are good people to work with, you don't have to put up with that.

[@mariannepradier2303]

@@Fr0stbite1801 Regrets can't be an excuse for abuse or exploitation. Of course you can empathize, but it becomes difficult to do when your livelihood is being threatened, and hold over your head by those kinky fucks, who compensate not having talent by accumulating a lot of power in the "cultural industry". Get the poison out, he's right.

[@Fr0stbite1801]

@@mariannepradier2303 yes, that hatred becoming support for systems that aim to replace artists is just despicable. I may never become an artist now, but that doesn't give me an excuse to just steal their works en masse and pass it off as my own in a petty attempt for revenge.

[@jounikemppi]

Back in the seventies, my art teacher told us that... "To become an artist, you must have a need to express yourself, a low publishing threshold, and a very, very thick skin."

[@camelopardalis84]

What's a "low publishing threshold". I understand the individual words, but not the whole expression.

[@Tetrapharma]

@@camelopardalis84 I think they are saying release all your work. Don't hold things back because you think they aren't good enough. For instance Neil Young would have a very low publishing threshold while Prince had a very high one.

[@camelopardalis84]

@@Tetrapharma Your explanation makes sense. The Neil Young/Prince example didn't help in the slightest, but thanks to you making it, I now know that Neil Young has a low publishing threshold and that Prince had a high one. And what a publishing threshold is I now know thanks to you.

[@camelopardalis84]

@@Tetrapharma Also, for some reason I just assumed a "publishing threshold" was definitely a commercial thing. Odd, given the type of channel this here is.

[@camelopardalis84]

@@Tetrapharma Have you just changed your username?

[@austincde]

Was 50% confident you're going to ask us to draw two circles and then somehow segue those circles into eyeballs for the eyeball zone

[@jenny_azoth]

*eeaao gif* 👁🥯

[@aaaaaa-ts3rw]

You know how he said an idea isn't good enough and you actually have to do something? This comment is indisputably art and therefore a refutation of that entire part of the video

[@jenny_azoth]

I'm a writer lmao

[@ND-nr6mx]

​@@aaaaaa-ts3rwbut it *could* be better...

[@RatPfink66]

@@aaaaaa-ts3rw Saying ain't doing. Ideas are only worth anything _in the long form._ 100,000 zingy aphorisms couldn't equal one lousy novel, because nothing's worth anything if you don't have to stick to it long enough to test your faith in it...and in yourself.

[@Gibbon420]

The greatest gift I ever gave myself was the permission to make bad art. I was always too in my own head, worried about the end result. Now I do art for a living. Go make ugly art!!! Go make a TON of it!!

[@rinarina6247]

AMEN 👏🏼

[@damien678]

Ugly art is better than no art

[@sacrosanct23]

Using the metaphor of walking a path as stand in for learning skilled art creation or performance, creating bad art is laying pavement on the dirt track ahead of you.

[@woadblue]

Dope

[@sacrosanct23]

@@woadblue been walkin the cutting room floor for 30 years. It is dope

[@seazenbones6945]

I always dreamt of being the world’s greatest photocopier. Thank you so much, for destroying that dream. I’m liberated.

[@ourladyofperpetualskepticism]

Tip: Try to remember that what you see from artists you admire is *largely* what they believed to be their best work. People don’t tend to share the vast majority of what goes into making that art or the failed attempts.

[@Pianovania]

God, the idea of being not even perfect but "good enough" almost killed me. I went to a private art college, I was given grades on being ""good enough"". I was never fast enough, accurate enough, had strong enough lines of action, able to keep up with the work load. I watched my peers do it 'effortlessly' while my whole life felt like it was falling about. I dropped out to avoid unaliving myself, and I couldn't even bare to pick up my tablet for over a year. That wasn't that long ago, as of a few weeks ago I've actually started to draw semi frequently, making things (or really ANYTHING at all) that I'm happy enough with to post. Maybe I'll never be good enough to sell my art in the capitalist hellscape world we live in (even if that would be so much better for my disabled body than working 2 regular jobs), but it's something. This video helped just... put words into ways that makes sense. No instructor ever told me anything like this, especially not when I had Covid and physically couldn't attend school and they did nothing but dock me marks as support... Gah I'm just venting about my experiences now but they affect my a lot still. This video was good for my brain is the short of it. Somehow "you'll never be good enough" is more encouraging than any other support I've recieved, so thank you.

[@Nikitomate]

A fellow student once called me a basic bitch by saying my works look commercially acceptable or something like that and our teachers always told us we are too slow. Art school can suck really hard. I hope you find your groove again and start doing art in your time and at your pace. And if you like, drop your socials and I will follow you :)

[@bobmfthomp]

Kudos on staying alive. Having your whole world fall apart and being here to tell the tale is no small feat. Good job. Congrats on picking back up your art too. I say do it as much as is enjoyable. Make things you like and if you feel they are pretty good (not perfect cause they'll never be) sell them if you'd like. The important part is to hopefully let it be fun again.

[@Pianovania]

@bobmfthomp Aw, thank you. It really was devastating and it still hits hard sometimes, especially when I moved provinces and wasted all my savings on it, but that's life. I've got a more positive outlook now and thankfully had and still have an amazing support system

[@serenaedison4429]

Congrats on stabilizing, on finding yourself a bit, discovering part of your journey. I'm in a similar boat. Left art school nearly a year ago and I have a hard time seeing where my art journey is headed. I'm trying to find a good level of working for myself. I am constantly creating, but the leap to put myself out there has stopped me. This video and your story has given me a bit of motivation to do some creative work, and to post it, whatever it may be. Thank you. As another comment says, if you're willing to post your social I'd love to give you a follow. Good luck and happy futures.

[@RatPfink66]

Try studying music. Very little matters in music WITHOUT perfecton, or at least perfectionism. Humanistic values only get in the way if one intends to become a serious musician.

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

"A suspiciously sexy wolf," unironically represents one of the best ways to make money as an artist today. Just felt compelled to point that out, for some reason.

[@Praisethesunson]

The free market providing solution to the starving artist problem, in a way that diminishes everyone involved.

[@Exarian]

@@Praisethesunson the best furry porn comes from people who get high on their own supply, though.

[@sleepysystem]

@@Praisethesunson not really. if artists have shitty dismissive attitudes to furry art and try to draw it jsut for money most furries can tell and will not commission you bc you dont have the skillset a dedicated furry artist does and it will show in your art. at best youll get a few commissions from ppl who wanna support new guys in the fandom or young kids who dont know better and jsut want a cheap comm of their fursona but most of us would rather comm other furries exactly bc of the way other artists think and speak about us. you dont wanna draw furries for money? great news, you wont be.

[@jeffreyherrera5069]

​@grnmjolnir OG Lola Bunny has entered the chat.

[@General12th]

​@@PraisethesunsonHumanity is *transcendent* with furry lewds.

[@noxy393]

"It's never too late to be terrible." Honestly, I needed to hear that (and accept that) years ago. It's such a duh concept, but it took so long for me to realize that I don't need to be perfect at something from the get go. I'm currently trying to find some creative outlet to be terrible at and keep having to say "it's okay to suck at this if I enjoy it." Thanks for the vid, TS!

[@paulsmart4672]

There was a recent drawfee stream in which Karina gives Jacob shit for needing to look up a reference to draw a bus "To see where the wheels go." "Where the wheels go!? I'll tell you were the wheels on the bus go! Round and round! You stupid motherfucker!" Or there's a very, very old Drawfee in which Nathan and Caldwell decide to draw "drunk driving giraffes" and realize "It was a trick! We got tricked! We were so excited to draw drunk animals we didn't realize we'd have to draw a car!" Vehicles are hard even though they really seem like they shouldn't be, is what I'm saying.

[@elijahthorne303]

"we were so excited to draw drunk animals we didn't realize we'd have to draw a car!" god, i love drawfee

[@AliceYobby]

Pls reply if you can find the link to that bus stream, would love to see that. There’s a KZbin channel that uploads their twitch streams too btw, so I’d just need the title of that

[@paulsmart4672]

@@AliceYobby KZbin doesn't like when people include links in comments but it's called "Post Vacation Stream", it's on the Drawfee Extra KZbin channel, and it was posted Aug 2, 2023.

[@НяшкаОртодокс]

as a person with an art degree who hates drawing cars, i'll say it's mostly because a car is very precise, it's mathematical, it doesn't let you cheet like organics do (humans, trees, food, mountains etc.) . the perspective is always telling if you messed up and you can't say it's a design choise like you would with a made up vehicle, cars exist and everybody knows how they look irl. and unlike architecture they are more than a box with decoration

[@paulsmart4672]

@@НяшкаОртодокс Huh!

[@aliflanagan7669]

Mildred this was profound and meaningful but also you really did make that OC and fanfic and beautiful poem so thank you for that

[@ThoughtSlime]

That's the Thought Slime difference™.

[@WikiSorcerer]

I went to an Arts Magnet for High School, and if there was anything that I learned there that stuck with me the most is "there will never be a work of art you make that will turn out 100% the way you intended." I guarantee you that there are people skilled enough to make photo-realistic depictions of things and while the rest of you marvel at how good it is, all the artist can think of are all the little flaws that only they can see.

[@unseenmolee]

fs, perfection is a myth, and letting go of that myth is so important imo

[@alanfike]

I remember reading somewhere that Beatles producer George Martin said in recent years that when he hears Beatles songs now, all he hears are the things he wishes to correct. Meanwhile, it's The Beatles.

[@buranflakes]

@@alanfike Every time I hear what John Lennon thought of his most famous Beatles songs it's always that he hated it, he didn't even like Strawberry Fields

[@randomtinypotatocried]

Not surprised by that. Some of those photorealistic artists will spend months/years on one piece to get it to the point of it looks like the real thing. Apparently the secret to it is relying on a huge surface (can't really do it on a small surface) and a ton of grids

[@alanfike]

@@justmeherethereandeverywhere I've had what you described happen, where it did turn out the way I envisioned but it actually ruined the whole point. I record music, and have recorded covers of songs that I like. Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, etc. I did one for "Darkness on the Edge of Town" that sounded pretty much just like the Springsteen track. Great! Why wouldn't someone listen to an exact approximation of a song when they can hear the original?! The original idea was to make it just like the original but then mess with it to make it unique, but by the time I managed to make it sound quite a bit like the original I was too tired of working on it and wanted to work on other songs. Funny how it works out sometimes.

[@jjdesigns8081]

I was watching Thought Slime back in the King Cuck avatar days and seeing how far you've come, how much you've learned about video composition and everything. You just by putting yourself out there has been incredibly inspiring to watch over the years, so thank you for this. I'm sucking at video creation rn, but to hear that's the important step and you gotta continue to suck to become good inspires me to keep gping and comtinue to put stuff out there and learn from it. Thank you!

[@nekovalley]

Once, I was browsing a sh*tbrained, 4chan-style forum where everyone was really cruel, especially about lgbt people and nonwhite people, just to torture myself I guess. There was a board specifically devoted to posting “bad art”, and for people to laugh at how bad the art was. 90% of it was objectively “good” art, the artist just expressed their identity in it somehow and the sh*tbrains didn’t agree with that. Like drawing a character with top surgery scars or as a different race or as a fat person got them VERY mad. That made me a little bit scared to ever post my art, but also, it made me realize that a lot of the people who think they know what good/bad art is actually don’t. They don’t have anything to say about how someone can get better at it. Point is, if you’re an artist, especially an lgbt/nonwhite artist, your art is definitely subject to being made fun of by people that won’t care how technically good it is, it’s bad if your character has fat rolls or two little lines on their chest indicating surgery. And that’s fine. Keep making it and let them do the only thing they can do: get mad on an isolated corner of the internet that you never would have visited anyway.

[@kittykittybangbang9367]

This is basically the point of sacrificial trash by Sarah Z

[@tristanband4003]

A lot of them are self hating.

[@hickknight]

Ugh. Reminds me of the movie mortal machines, that I've never watched. I've read the first book, but the scar the girl had looked FAR worse in the book than in the movie. She looked so generically beautiful instead of actually having the scars of the fights she fought, or accidents she had... As if whomever made the movie said: that's too ugly. We can't have that.

[@Alfenium]

I'm glad you got offended

[@CheeseLoversUnited]

actually, they said it made them afraid! if you're the kind of sadist that's glad when others are made afraid, don't be a pussy about it, don't mince words, own it

[@xingcat]

A friend of mine and I, both of whom started painting abstract works during 2020, participated in our first art fair this weekend. The number of people who came into our booth and said something along the lines of, "I'm not a REAL artist like you, but..." and would describe their art, made me realize that "real" art is a lot of window dressing around whatever work we're actively involved in making, for the most part. We sold a little bit, not a tremendous amount, but it did make the hours and days of trying things and putting work out there feel like we've done something so far.

[@TransHippie]

Thank you. I've got a script, a camera, a mic and a pantry converted to a studio, and only the thing keeping me from starting is how awful the end product will be. You're right; it's a lousy excuse to not tell a story like mine.

[@isaacbear7115]

I subscribed. I'm excited to see what you make!!!

[@TransHippie]

@isaacbear7115 thank you. Don't expect anything visually stinning; I have almost zero vfx ability. I'm a good storyteller though, and I'm a GenX trans woman who first cross identified at 3 in 1976. My mother was born under a Nazi occupation and my paternal grandmother was a Republican socialite. It's a radical trans feminist existential horror story, with the patriarchy as the primary villain. I can't promise anyone will like it; i only promise that it will all be true

[@isaacbear7115]

@evafreire2523 hey I just wanna see you grow as an artist because that's the coolest thing in the world. Your story sounds incredible and I cannot wait to hear it/see it.

[@iamjustkiwi]

That story sounds really cool, I also subbed in hopes of hearing it. I love hearing people just candidly sharing their stories, especially since I have a history of being deceptive out of fear of my actual life not being interesting enough. I have a lot of respect for those who share their real lives or candid imaginings proudly regardless of what folks might think.

[@pieperson444]

subbed and waiting

[@MichaelHaneline]

As someone who went to art school for years, and still sucks at art, I approve of this message

[@Detaur]

This is such a great message. As an artist I had to learn it the hard way, I gave up on art for several years because I fell into the despair of perfectionism, and fear of never meeting my own standards. But eventually I realized that art is about the creative process and not the end goal, and if I kept despairing over never being perfect I’d also never get any better. Now I just enjoy making silly pictures, and if other people like them cool, but I’m doing it for me, or as you said “to get the poison out”.

[@HelgeHolm]

Truly accepting to suck at something is the most liberating and productive shift any creative can do.

[@reptilez5798]

any advice for someone who wants to start drawing?

[@DarkLordToturials]

@@reptilez5798 super simple gesture drawings worked for me! they're like stick figures, but more lively, perfect when you have absolutely no clue what to do (like I did haha)

[@brandnewmotorbike]

At some point with art I really started to enjoy just watching what would come out when I would draw, and it became less and less about achieving a specific image I started out imagining and more about expanding on what happened to come out.

[@Detaur]

@@reptilez5798 My advice is to just start. Try not to worry too much about what it looks like. Enjoy the process. Draw whatever comes into your mind or that you see

[@TeleviseGuy]

As an ex-delusional-artist who relegated drawing from an obsession to a mere hobby because there is no way in hell I'll ever be a professional-level artist no matter how much I practice individual techniques, this video helps me a lot.

[@sophia-helenemeesdetricht1957]

I'm a flamenco dancer, and let me just say how much I REEEEEEEAAAAAAAAALLY super agree with this. I was talking to a new dancer a couple of days ago and she didn't want to join in the class because she was afraid she wasn't good enough. I am, in my class, perhaps the most proficient dancer. And so I did what is my job as the one who's done this the most and I told her when I was as new as she was, I couldn't [do a cross step] without stomping on my own toes in a way that defies reality and causation. You have to be kind enough to yourself to be cruel to yourself and challenge what you think you can and cannot do. You have to suck before you can be good. It's the only way you improve. And it is super embarrassing! I just started taking ballet like three months ago and I don't even know all the names of all the basic steps! I'm bad at this! I'm in a class with college girls who weigh 12 lbs and have been doing this since they were 9! I cannot compete with that! ... ... But I can _learn_ from that. And also, those college girls who have been doing this since they were 9 are very sweet about it. They're better at it than me, so they're happy to help. But they can't make you do the thing. You have to do the thing. So do the thing.

[@TheAngryMarshmallow]

This comment was great ❤

[@personaslates]

You dont look like a flamingo to me...

[@sophia-helenemeesdetricht1957]

@@personaslates 🤣🤣

[@willhaertel607]

Everyone needs to hear this, even those who don't call themselves "artists".

[@alfred8936]

Art is flagellation, but there's a kink for everyone

[@unseenmolee]

STAHPP ADWNJKA

[@plufim]

....how dare you lol

[@p5rsona]

I always thought you had to be a huge masochist to follow art, guess time for me to join bdsm club

[@Sketchguy1248]

'Rap is just one of my fetishes like a dragon that's pregnant'

[@randomtinypotatocried]

@@p5rsonaHonestly yeah. I will work on sculptures to the point of breaking down after a part I've been working on for a few hours breaks on me (never make huge teapots for your art course because you will never have enough time to get it done)

[@talistheintrovert]

mildred this is one of my favourite videos on the internet and i love you

[@Craxin01]

As a failed former art student, this hits particularly hard for me. Easier to be a coward than to risk being hurt.

[@MidoriTheAwesome]

Owie stay off my feelings

[@edh1970]

the poison is still eating away at me

[@megamillion5852]

@@edh1970 *Become the poison.* We can all be Venom! I believe in you and your endeavors, stranger.

[@randomtinypotatocried]

I keep having to drop out of art programs. Each time I take on a new medium the past ones even the ones I failed miserably help build on them. Good luck OP on your journey and I hope you embrace the failure to build upon it

[@TheStupidStrawberry]

please don’t become fascist and attempt to take over the world by committing genocide.

[@aliud9904]

Love that I was pushed to be a software engineer instead of an artist. It definitely didn't kill my soul

[@CptnBillHarris]

After reading Stephen King's On Writing I gained a new level of respect for him. People joke that he pumps out books for the pay cheque but honestly, I think that dude would still have written dozens of novels even if he'd never been published. Dude just loves writing. It's just his favourite pastime and fortunately for him he gets paid for it. Henry Rollins is another guy whose work ethic I really admire. Music, acting, spoken word, whatever. The dude has said himself he doesn't consider himself particularly good at anything, but he's just willing to put in the work in all those things that he doesn't need to be great at any of them, he can just be good enough to pull a little pay from all of them that he can build a career for himself.

[@Trevin_Taylor]

Learning that he ISNT churning them out, but resubmitting old books they passed on when he was unknown was enlightening. They said it was crap when he was in his 20s but are desperate to publish it now.

[@cjboyo]

Stephen King is an incredibly skilled writer

[@FreeFoodforthePoor]

Stephen King? Did he write that book about the recovering alcoholic writer from a generic part of New England who teams up with a minority with magical powers to combat something that’s usually innocuous but is somehow inexplicably evil?

[@asmodiusjones9563]

I got my friend into Stephen King by saying he writes stories the way a beaver chews through trees. Incredibly effectively, but also non-stop and by compulsion, sometimes without a specific goal in mind. And sometimes they’ll chew on a tree that would be better left alone and you just gotta accept thats how nature works and put up a protective fence, *cough* preteen sewer orgy *cough*.

[@toppersundquist]

As much as it sucks, his interview (really, just Rollins monologuing) on the Joe Rogan podcast was really, really amazing, and such a huge insight into how Henry's brain works: maximum output 24/7, and how happy he was when he made enough money to pay people to ORGANIZE his effort FOR him, so he could JUST produce.

[@GenoAtog1]

The editing in this video is so good! I love the content, but I really wanted to point out all the little edits. The fake screenshots, the fire behind you when you’re seething contempt, it’s all so good.

[@davidharper238]

"You actually don't need to be good at art to make good art" THAT'S MY HOPE!

[@GodelsLaw]

Your extension of Truffauts no anti-war war film observation to no anti-fucked-up-guy fucked-up-guy film has shattered me. I am crying, standing outside of Martin Scorsese's house, but he won't let me in

[@GodelsLaw]

Also: great vid!

[@Fatzombie086]

Sucking at something is the first step to not being half-bad at something

[@rottenisee2751]

sucking at something is the first step to being kinda good at it

[@bosstowndynamics5488]

You have to embrace the suck

[@kscarletpelt]

This video articulated so many of the thoughts I have about art in the exact right way! I'm a writer and having people not understand that its taken almost 20 years for me of practice to get to where I am today is always so frustrating!

[@RatPfink66]

And you can't lose yourself in writing. It can't be a natural activity. You have to consciously slog through it because you're not gonna know what works on a page till you see it. I think you have to waste more effort than in visual art because language (and the use of it) is so intricate.

[@rinarina6247]

I remember once I was talking to a friend, and I brought up the cringey comics I made in middle school. And it hit me like a ton of bricks…at the time, I wasn’t worried about making terrible art or nonsensical stories, I just…did. More than anything, it was that realization that I could be totally unafraid of making and sharing something terrible, and the knowledge that with time and patience and the right habits I will improve, that gave me the courage to apply to art school, and the skill to get in. If you’re reading this, your art might not be great right now, and that’s okay!! Failure isn’t a detour on the way to success, it’s a stepping stone toward it. You got this, I believe in you ❤ PS: NEVER take a job for “exposure”, your art, however amateur, is your labor, and is worth so much more than that.

[@sideways5153]

Caveat: Do whatever makes you happy with your hobby, as long as it remains within the boundaries of a hobby. “Exposure” is pay enough if all you’re trying to do is help with something or get work published. Never work for free, but also never force yourself to be paid in order to feel like you’re allowed to do something

[@rinarina6247]

@@sideways5153 True! Key word being hobby, not job

[@randomtinypotatocried]

That was me in high school with my comics. They weren't good but the process was enjoyable. I kinda wish I didn't stop writing after that (and yes I know I can start again but I'm still working through the trauma attached to why I stopped in the first time)

[@rinarina6247]

@@randomtinypotatocried Well hey, once you’re done processing it we’d be happy to have you in the artistic community:)

[@broshmosh]

Ngl, burying one of the most helpful drawing tips in the final three minutes of a near-29 minute video was a genius move. Superb advice.

[@zak8340]

Honestly, as someone who's been feeling completely nonconfident in my art, feeling like nobody notices or I'll never be good enough, this video helped me realize that Thought Slime may not view Ready Player One favorably.

[@sailoreligaming]

It's true, as an artist, I do actually hate myself. On a serious note, thank you so much for this video. I've been struggling with feeling good about my art for a long time, and I'm trying very hard to get back to just enjoying the act of drawing rather than caring about how "good" something I've created is. Like my art, it's a work in progress.

[@missk1697]

I've wanted to learn to draw, but people told me I don't have "talent", so I decided to pursue politics career instead. Wish me luck guys! 🙋‍♀

[@tripticentral]

This made me cry. Maybe because it's something I needed to hear

[@mootroidXproductions]

Dude, those figure drawings in your sketchbook are REALLY impressive. I love quick figural gesture drawings- love them more than clean, rendered pieces. You should show those off more often. Also, pro tip from an animation major, in case you haven't done this already- try doing quick 30-second figure sketches with a thick piece of charcoal. It was a huge breakthrough for me because it forced me to see volume and lines of action. You could probably be a pretty sweet animator with those sketches of yours.

[@randomtinypotatocried]

Being forced to work with charcoal actually did help my sculptures

[@mootroidXproductions]

@@randomtinypotatocried exactly! it's like a brain hack for Instant Understanding Of 3D Space And Volume

[@Skriak]

I honestly owe Thought Slime a lot of the confidence that got me back into drawing 🎉

[@davidtaylor142]

I think the main reason Liefield's work is so unpleasant is because hes really GOOD at shading and musculature, but not great at body proportions

[@LAZY-RUBY]

Is he? I thought most comic productions have separate people for penciling, inks, colors, and the like. Doesn't Rob mostly do penciling?

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

I've compared him to Renaissance sculptor Baccio Bandinelli. He was clearly very skilled at what we'd consider the basic elements, but not great at body proportions. His "Hercules and Cacus" was panned at the time for the exact same reasons that Liefeld's art has been criticized. Much the same way Liefeld looked up to and tried to emulate Jack Kirby, Bandinelli looked up to Michelangelo.

[@davidtaylor142]

@@LAZY-RUBY initial shading and the like are usually done by the penciler and then refined in inking but it varies

[@timothymclean]

How much of that is him being bad at body proportions, and how much of that is intentionally getting the proportions wrong to make the superheroes look larger than life? It's probably a mix of the two.

[@davidtaylor142]

@@timothymclean that too probably

[@BrianFace182]

As a guy with programming qualifications who binned it off and became a musician, this is what I needed today. Thought Slime, Thinkie Sludge, nailed it again

[@TheNerdWithASuit]

_"Imperfection is beautiful."_ - Entrapta

[@r3q4re80]

I was sure the circles at the end were going to take me to the Eyeball Zone.

[@Vox_Rhododendron]

“Sucking at something is the first step to bein’ sorta good at something.” - Jake the Dog

[@DeepDiveDevin]

(He says this shortly before performing amateur plastic surgery)

[@samglyph]

I’m sure someone’s maybe brought it up by now, but one of my favorite art motivators is this little online quote that’s essentially “I want to make art, but what if it’s bad”-> “make it bad” Love this video! Always a great message to get you out of a spiral and actually working on the thing you want to make. Gonna go finish my comic pages now.

[@RatPfink66]

It doesn't mean it's OK to make something bad. That's just what you have to do. Even if it makes you feel hopeless every time. Even if you can't put it into perspective until you finally see results way down the road. Remember, discipline is doing things you don't believe in, for reasons you _do_ believe in.

[@tarafixit9579]

I don't know why I am completely enthralled by thought slimes mouth ( meaning their smile or sly smirk) but it's fully facinating....and I feel like that's a good synopsis of the point of this video essay

[@rainbowrotcod]

it is a nice one, yes.

[@General12th]

You could mute the video and get like 20% of what Mildred is saying just by the way their mouth moves. It's like eyebrows but with the mouth parts.

[@megamillion5852]

Holy shit! I thought it was just me, but I was never brave enough to say it! TS has a very brain pleasing mouth hole. I don't know what it is, but it just...IS.

[@anathemarae8789]

Thank you. Particularly needed this today. Saving this for every day of my life.

[@adthebad09]

Some of the lines you drew were good, some bad, some made me feel weird and a few were sexy. With a few lines being all of the above, I think those lines were my favourite.

[@scaredyfish]

Whose line is it anyway?

[@calsavestheworld]

Aw I knew it! Ok, sorry. I'll try quilting.

[@cookierill]

I say this all the time, but suddenly coming out publicly as trans without any access to hormones helped me sooooooo much with whatever nervousness I had about making art, since with I eventually realized in early 2018 that there would NEVER be an “ideal time” to break hegemony, and I had to just jump with my parashoot with the faith that just TRYING was worth it in and of itself. I honestly NEVER thought I could be a seriously artist before that, but within two years of me coming out I was able to finish my debut feature, and have made 7 features (along with countless shorts and a docuseries) since. Not only did I realize that there would never be a “right time” to be an artist, but I became a filmmaker to relieve myself of the “poison” talked about here, especially as I was forced into conversion therapy for 2.5 years right before the pandemic.

[@ItRemindMeOfHome]

I've tried a dozen different areas of artistic creation, still actively trying a few of them. I've tried drawing, writing, music composition, sculpture, dance, jewelry crafting, painting, poetry, video essays, cartography, digital modeling, fictional documentaries, even, ahem... let's call it knotwork. I still draw about 5 or 6 pieces a month, I write between 100 and 2000 words in a single session, I crank out maybe 8 seconds of barely listen-able music every few months, and I write a single poem once a year. I hate all of it, but I still post most of it, because I wanted to make it and there are people who want to see it. I work through my grief and trauma through my writing, I make myself smile with my poetry, I bring characters, both mine and my friends, to life by drawing them.

[@jasonbrown109]

"Get the poison out!" Such great advice. That's going on the studio wall. Thank you!

[@winterx2348]

thank you for the "you should give up" thing, that's something everyone is so terrified to say but is so true. i've known people who genuinely SHOULD NOT make art, because they aren't in the right headspace and invest too much in the negative aspects that come with it. if the process of creation itself isn't doing something for you, then the end result will destroy you 100% of the time. it's not a failure, but it can feel that way just because making art is so inherently personal. even a random person seeing one of your dumbest doodles that you didn't put any effort into and calling it ugly can leave you feeling some level of rejected, let alone the inevitable cringe that comes when you look back on your own art that you made only a week ago and seeing nothing but the flaws. an artist isn't someone who draws good, it's someone who can handle those feelings and interpret them correctly, not as failure, but as proof that you've grown, or that you still have room to grow, and then celebrates it. you will not be an artist if you can't find joy in the never ending cycle of self-destruction and rebirth every time you pick up a pencil, or an instrument, or put hands to a keyboard, or whatever your method of self expression happens to be. that might sound deep and noble or whatever, which is probably why people romanticize being an artist so much, but it's really not. it's not everyone's cup of tea and that's ok. there are people on this planet that do math for fun, for god's sake, so if art isn't your thing, then you can definitely find something else that stomps on your dick in a way you actually like, and i encourage you to do so.

[@milaserty]

I had a friend who did art to become popular on social media. They even went to art school for it. Their art was objectively really good, but they hated the process. They hated sketching and figuring out things, they had to get things right the first time. They would rarely finish a piece, and when they did, they would keep refreshing their twitter post, obsessing over likes and all. Things kept going downhill, they suffered heavy depression as a result and ended up cutting many people from their lives, including me, because I was not useful for their e-fame...

[@RatPfink66]

I loved music until I figured out I didn't have the musician's ethos of suffering for perfection. Now music is just a source of guilt whether I do it or don't.

[@RatPfink66]

@@winterx2348 either her heart is not in it, or only her _hurt_ is in it. the latter is worse, because you can neither begin nor quit.

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

...personally I think for me might be better to go the angle of "You know how to draw and Are An Artist the second you can Put A Mark Onto Something" than go the angle of "You will never know how to Art and will never become Artist", but more power to anybody that this helps. More like the circle tutorial bit than all prior, once you figure out how the two ends of the pencil affect a sheet of paper You Are Artist.

[@gwynevans6440]

"I am playing all the right notes. I may not necessarily, be playing them in the right order." - Eric Morcombe.

[@Sugar3Glider]

Writer: If only I could create Art Me: ... You're a Writer... You already do?!? Writer: It's not Art! Me: Who hurt you?

[@consciouscode8150]

I've had this conversation almost verbatim with one of my friends

[@Praisethesunson]

Publishers hurt them

[@blkmagi]

Okay at me next time lmaoo

[@otomatic3668]

Honestly how I've felt about photography ever since I got into it. I've been shooting for 10 years 😭

[@cjboyo]

I literally have had this conversation both ways with my wife

[@13lavance]

Don't apologize for this video, artists young and old need to be reminded of this CONSTANTLY💜

[@jessel9626]

I write poetry on instagram accompanied by pictures I take of my daily life, and this really resonated with me. When I first started I felt like I was terrible, and for the most part I really was, but I kept going by being purposefully absurd at times and leaning in to the idea that it was bad art. I hid my self-consciousness behind a veneer of "ironic" acknowledgement. Eventually the irony left, but with it left the acknowledgements. I felt like I didnt need to make my work less serious, or to apologize for creating something bad. Eventually I started to get friends that would occasionally tell me out of the blue that they actually really loved my poems, and I found that I loved many of them too. Ive written about 200 at this point and looking back on them, I can see improvement and discovery in their progression. It wasnt getting paid or even getting more readers that made the art real, it was just my own perception of what I was doing that made it legitimate.

[@MetalKingStudio]

I needed this video. This was a wonderful essay. Thanks Mr. Slime.

[@obsidian4844]

I know this has nothing to do with the video but knowing that Mildo is 38 I dont know, it makes me feel safe. Folks like us can survive and thrive and live full lives.

[@iamjustkiwi]

Same. I'm almost 35 now and often feel like all those years have amounted to nothing, which for one is just a bad mindset, but also comes from a place of self doubt and downplaying all the things I HAVE done. Comparison is one of the worst things we subject ourselves to even though it can be a useful tool.

[@SantaFishes101]

that has always been the case but he mostly grew up in better times economically and politically aside from the bigotry part

[@oldboy2399]

I'm 47 and went back to college for a Graphic Design degree, at least I'm a senior now, call me late bloomer....but I been making art my whole life.

[@ambroseelon9989]

I’m an ‘old’ 34 having started on my own young and had kids young and I switch ‘careers’ 6 times I will never not be a beginner and on the struggle bus and that’s okay. It’s my comfort zone now just to be lost and failing constantly

[@rebekahNo_cca]

Thank you for this. I have been agonizing over how bad I am at the things I love to create, the people in my life tell me I’m not as bad as I think but I have spent time on the floor in the dark weeping for how embarrassed I am about my art. I keep going anyway but the voice in my head telling me I’m trash never lessens but this was comforting to watch. Maybe it’s a good thing I see room for me to grow, I still learned something with each tiny little crappy project I’m not that different from other artists after all.

[@samlogsdon]

As a performance artist, I really appreciated this video. I have so many moments of feeling like I'm not good enough the second I'm off stage. In reality, I'm doing the damn thing and that's enough.

[@lunasspecto]

"*real* art like Ready Player One" got to me, like somehow thinking about commercially successful art that I hate is somehow both discouraging and motivating. I make niche music and only really figured out how to do this stuff about 3 years ago, so the thing I've been learning to live with is just making a thing that *I* like aesthetically, getting that idea successfully captured in a recording, and then knowing it's going to be ignored really hard, like not enough people are actually hearing it for me to gauge how it's being received. But the one-way communication of making obscure art feels better than just not figuring out how to realize that idea in the first place. And if I ever start thinking it's not worthwhile just because people aren't listening, I just remind myself that a lot of people listen to Jason Aldean, so maybe that's not really the goal

[@melle-d9971]

the fact that im listening to this while working on paid art work makes this whole new levels of hilarious

[@jennaheiser625]

The point about never being good enough really hit home for me. I’m an artist in the same sense that you are; I can draw better than most people on the street, I doodle pretty often, and most of what I make is recognizable for what I’m attempting. As a young child, I drew a lot of smiling girls with long brown hair, long purple dresses, and high heels. I just drew what I liked. Now, any art that I make with a purpose (gifting, decoration, etc.) has the potential to stress me out beyond belief because IT WILL NEVER BE GOOD ENOUGH.

[@BoneMachine1443]

When you draw, if it's not turning out the way you want, you're getting the bad drawing out of you. Same with every medium. It's worth doing it, the process is worth doing it. The worst art you do make is still better than the best ideas you never do anything with.

[@SavageGreywolf]

Instructions unclear, drew a circle on my guitar. Am I an accomplished musician now

[@supaloops11]

This could not be better timed for me. Days ago I started a creative insta... with exactly this sincerity and intent. Must be the vibe of the universe right now. Thank you so much for your endless encouragement and the content you let me be a part of.

[@el_m3allem]

in the last few years ive just started making my art, putting it out there, and asking for people to pay for it if they like it. i wanted to be an artist all my life and despite doing art constantly in various forms i never thought i was good enough to call myself one. thanks for the encouragement on that !

[@el_m3allem]

also i make video essays on here if you were willing to offer critique i would be super grateful!!

[@LAZY-RUBY]

This video really hits. I just finished an animated music video that I ended up having to compromise a lot on for time and even had to cut bits I felt weren't up to snuff. The whole thing is scratchy, hastily painted, and does not live up to the vision for it I had in my head, and yet I'm still beyond happy I made it. If I had put it off till I was "good enough" like you said, it would never come to exist. It's not perfect, but I still feel accomplished for sticking with it and saying, "Yeah it doesn't look quite how I imagined but fuck it, no excuse to not put it out there after all the work I did!"

[@AliceYobby]

What’s the music video? Would love to check it out!

[@thatzapherguy4066]

great video! also whoever said that quote about it being impossible to truly make an anti war movie has never watched "Come and See"

[@beard78748]

I tell people that you have to "embarrass the suck." It is ok to be bad at things. You then learn that the anxiety you had at failing was much worse than the consequences of failing. ( In most cases)

[@cjboyo]

The hardest part of drawing is overcoming your brain’s shortcuts when it decides what something looks like, ESPECIALLY color

[@Dantalliumsolarium]

This is honestly one of the best talk in arts I’ve heard. Like- it’s amazing and so hard to do art, and the balance of observation and tricking the eye is so hard. Like I’m trying to learn landscapes and still figuring out the balance of detail and abstraction to make it look good and easy for the eye to understand which- I struggle with still /(._.)\

[@porc1429]

Thank you. This is genuinely encouraging

[@olive_schilde]

I really don't want this to sound objectiving, but your hair looks great. Honest thought that came to mind. Sorry if this sounds weird. I'm gonna go now.

[@thirdquadrant72]

"You should find something else to do that you want to do more" Makes sense, that's why I have a server homelab. I've literally had a full server rack in my living room at times and loved it to pieces. Keep up your work Thought Slime. I love it.

[@sunla]

I love this video. The biggest thing is to just do it and make your mark. Ignore the haters, even the best people have them, but you're the only person with your unique combination of vision and voice, so make your mark, because life's too short not to.

[@elrandohorse]

Got to the end with the circles and thought "are they trying to do a Uzumaki on me?"

[@FirebirdStardust]

This is one of the most well worded explanations on becoming an artist that I've ever heard. Good job Mildred!

[@autumnwitchmaple]

oh man ily thought slime I am always, constantly saying, "I only make art when, if I do not make it, I will die. I don't write anything unless it will kill me not to write it" because YOU HAVE TO GET THE FUCKING POISON OUT YOU HAVE TO GET THE FUCKING POISON OUT

[@karoliinalehtinen6701]

I've been doing art for like my whole life and I'm semi professional on it now, so here's my best trick (because as said, art is all tricks). Practice drawing by holding the pencil at the very far end of it. Draw from model or picture or something. This will release you from the fear of the line. The fear of the line is the thing where you try to meticulously draw the circle to be as round as possible. You don't have to get the lines right always, but you'll have to be able to release yourself of the fear of the line to be able to create vivid lines. Also I do absolutely agree with everything in this video. I'm a fellow ADHDer and the art poison inside me is usually on obsessive levels. It's really the reason that has kept me creating my whole life. I feel like I'll literally die of the poison if I don't get it out by creating. It has pushed me through all the self-doubt. I'm also hobbyist writer and that has always been more of a self-doubt struggle for me than painting (probably because of the dyslexia), but I just can't stop it. Even if I hate everything I write and can't show it to anyone, I need to keep writing because otherwise the little guys I made up in my head will torture me to death. Then maybe someday I will write something that I can show and people might read. Several years ago I also picked up sewing. I love it so much it's so therapeutic and also drives me to madness. I had been thinking "wouldn't it be neat if I could sew"? And then I realized I had a sewing machine, so I could just do it. At first I was afraid to cut into a fabric, they are not cheap. So I started with an old sheet and I just made a skirt? So I was immediate hooked. I'm not great at it, but I can already make pretty good quality clothing, even some pretty complex ones, at least after a bit of struggle. My trick to create is say to yourself no one will ever know. It's your little secret. You don't ever have to show it to anyone. Create the most self-indulgent art you can, ignore the gringe and the fear of what others might think inside you. No one will ever see, no need to fear. It is a lie, but be convincing. Once you have created the thing, you might hate it (do another one) or you might be surprised that you're actually proud of it. If latter, break your promise to yourself and show it to people.

[@randomtinypotatocried]

I also find switching to my least dominant hand (had to learn that when I accidentally fucked up my dominant hand a few years back) for practice sketches also helps think about what I'm drawing in a different way

[@karoliinalehtinen6701]

@@randomtinypotatocried that's also a good practice to release yourself from the fear of the line! After doing something badly, it's so much easier to let go of the fear!

[@ajplays-gamesandmusic4568]

Slime, you left out a very important part in the learning process, and it was a part that you demonstrated at the end. That part is, teaching/learning. Towards the end of the video, you told us to draw two circles, and then taught us how to improve on the process. Sometimes we hit a wall when it comes to how far practice can take us, and in order to improve, we need someone more experienced to give us advice. Some people might not even think to practice circular strokes until they're pleased with their hand movements. Some people might sit there drawing and erasing bad circles over and over.

[@ShinGallon]

I spent *years* planning and writing and tweaking the script for a comic that I was waiting until my art was "good enough" to start drawing it. Guess how many pages of that comic ever actually got drawn. Take a wild guess. If you said "Zero", congratulations! But then a few years ago I started playing D&D, and I made a character that I really really liked playing and wanted to do a little 5-10 page comic about her. I'm currently working on page 170 of that comic, because it snowballed and I just couldn't stop writing/drawing the story that formed in my mind about her and how she met her best friend and their first adventure together. And that exists because I decided "fuck it" and just started drawing the comic, not waiting to be "good enough". And I post it online, and get comments from people who accuse the character of being a "mary sue" (because that term has lost all of it's original meaning and now simply means "female character who is competent at anything ever" to chuds) and I laugh at them, but I also have comments from people who really enjoy it and can't wait for my next update, and that feels pretty good. I'm getting the poison out. And because I'm not Bernie Wrightson the lineart could always be better, but that's okay too.

[@jamesbourgeois1357]

I love writing. I've written 2 novels and now I'm working try to publish them them now. I've been lagging in that effort lately. But this video has inspired me to redouble those efforts thank you.

[@beatrixishere]

In a time when people seems to be falling off and turning out to be monsters your videos gives me joy and a sense of calm. While I came for the anarchism I stayed for the vulnerable yet funny slices of your internal monologue. The only thing I hold against you is that you're like 3 years younger than me but you look so young and fresh, I won't hold it against you though. Thank you ❤

[@tayasigerson]

Great video! I used to watch tutorial videos and art infographics and download tons of brushes and waste so much time "studying art" and no time actually drawing. I was hoping to skip ahead to when I was good enough to draw. Finally I started drawing what I really wanted (fanart) and my art in 2018 SUCKS but if I didn't start there I would be here in 2023 with art that isn't perfect but is WAY better than it used to be. My advice to people is forget "doing studies" and "learning anatomy" and draw the kind of things you want, whatever that is, and the technical skill and anatomical knowledge will come later. And don't worry about social media accounts and followers and the algorithm and engagement until later as well.

[@Wyattporter]

You make that joke about being in my phone screen, but this is the one day that I watch on my laptop. So _there,_ you slime you.

[@KingBowserLP]

You've successfully made me *understand* my own adage of "code is art". Instead of dallying around reading and doing Rust tutorials, after i already completed projects in other languages that *sucked* but did what i set out to do, I really should just *make* something for once. Like old times, when i sucked even more than i do now but i made things. thank you for that.