Do you look at what you create as an artist and just hate everything about it? This is a really common reaction to our own artwork, we are our own toughest critics.
- 1 min. short (being patient)
- 1 min. short (evil voice)
- 57 second short (feeling insecure)
- 39 min. video (discussion)
This video explains coping strategies for how to shift your mindset when you experience this frustrating situation as an artist.
Discussion led by Art Prof Clara Lieu and Teaching Artists Alex Rowe and Cat Huang.
Video Walkthrough
- All artists feel this way!
- It is impossible to expect that you will like all your artwork
- Take a break from looking at other artists on social media
- Identify your weakest skills and then make a plan to directly address them
- Make sure you are giving your work a chance; don’t call it quits too fast
- Be patient with your artistic process
- Get support from an artistic community. (like our Discord)
- Look at your art from many years ago to see visible improvement
- Measure your progress in terms of months or years, not days or weeks.
- Distinguish between “real issues” and “fake issues.”
- A fake issue is telling yourself “My art sucks, it just does.”
- A real issue is “I need to work on learning anatomy.”
- Ask yourself if you hate the product, or the process.
- If you hate the process, change it!
Prof Lieu’s Tips
There is a saying that if you’re not getting rejected as an artist, you’re not putting yourself out there enough. Rejection comes with the territory of being a professional artist.
All artists experience rejection, anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.
I confess that regardless of how experienced I am, rejection still hurts when it happens. That doesn’t change, but you do learn better how to cope when rejection happens. Let that rejection sting for a few hours, then pick yourself back up and move on!
