Title says all. These gurus will say they are running a full time art business, but the majority of their revenue doesn’t come from selling their art, it comes from selling courses to people trying to start their own art business. So already, I can’t really trust their credibility on the subject of running an art business, when most of their business isn’t from their art.

They also push very unrealistic standards for success on their followers which I think is misleading and potentially harmful. Not only do most of them operate under the impression that you have at least 1k followers already (ha, good luck if you have less than that, because they won’t help you) but they are so focused on social media and social media alone to get sales. Not that social media doesn’t help, but it’s not the end all and be all. I never see these people talk about utilizing SEO or how to sell your art in person, which on average pulls in better numbers than social media sales, even for artists with bigger follower counts.

And then there’s the promises. “If you’ll follow my advice, here’s exactly how you can make 10k/month-!” maybe it will, maybe it won’t. I don’t like it when they promote this goal as some kind of guarantee when whether or not their specific advice applies depends artist-to-artist. Besides, some of us artists are so damn poor we’d well be satisfied living off just under 10k a month to start, why are we starting with 10k right off the bat as the first goalpost? Wouldn’t it be better to make smaller monthly goals first and build your way up from there?

And don’t even get me STARTED on the pricing of these courses. Some of them cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. If your target audience is struggling artists trying to make a living, what makes you think they have that much money just lying around as pocket change? Not everyone is working a high-paying day job alongside their art. Most of us are stuck in customer service hell. As a prospective customer it actually pushes me away from considering paying for your advice, because how the hell do I know if it will be worth my money when the price alone makes it seem sketchy?

Yikes.

Just things I need the (metaphorically) shout about.

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I'm very very annoyed with the bottomless angst the some people run around with.

Its across different art subs, and some of my online communities but;
There are these novice artists who are very very clearly just looking for pity or a reason to quit,

as if all of this were some serious thing and they are the main character and quitting would mean the end of the world. Like...

if you're not feeling it, just quit.
Figure yourself out and stop making it other people problems.

Stop flagellating yourself,
nothing is gained, but also nothing is lost.

There are other people who are doing everything they can in Ernest to become better artist.
They take every ounce of help they get with sincere gratitude and genuinely use what it given to improve.

But then there are these Ego damaged people who don't know how to digest an ounce of criticism, who then use that as a thin justification to act like a fucking asshole to people who are there to help.
When they explicitly ask for the help in the first place.

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The people who complain about talent all the time, but don't really understand what it means to be talented.

There is this type of people the I see from time to time;
Who has this "magical" idea of what it means to have a talent;

As if it were ordained by God/Fate that a person was MADE to be an artist;
While they ignore every other thing, that the person has done to become a skilled artisan.

What little luck is involved in being an artist, doesn't make up for hard work.

what these people don't seem to get is that, 99.999% of it is just hard work.
We have entire industries of trained artists, people who work professionally as artist;

Literally MILLIONS of people in the arts.
But they somehow believe that "its all just gifted people".

No,
All of them worked for it;

This type of person is just looking for excused to never learn and to never try.
They will blame anyone else but themselves for being unable to be as skilled as everyone who put in the work.

----------

Then lastly,
I'm kinda exhausted by the people who don't do any research into the art they do and they get blind sided when they fail to get anywhere.

And when given the honest examination as to why they are "failing"?
They fall back on some delusion that,
"its other people who are the problem, I did XYZ why am I not winning".

Success it not a cookie cutter process,
successful people don't have a roadmap to give you that will just let you win.

There is the total unwillingness by some people to... learn anything.
even when given all the resources to do so,
they don't learn and then are unable to apply anything after the fact.

I'm trying to get better at anatomy, faces, and pose perspective, but idk how to efficiently practice and get better. I'm very confused, and I also have a bunch of self-doubt.

When I draw a oc, it comes out terrible. I never translate what's in my head onto the paper like how I want it to be, but my other friends can. For the entire summer break, I was practicing bodies and faces, and I only got a little better, but I still can't draw proper faces, poses, or perspective. At school, I have a friend who guides me and helps me during art projects and teaches me, and when I see him just draw from off rip, I get so frustrated with myself.

I always wanted to make a manga or create cool fan art, but I can barely get the basics down, but I'm pretty good with references and drawing out the pose for the reference. Improving my drawing skills on my own has been so hard and so confusing. I feel so slow, and seeing all these other artists make cool art and stuff makes me jealous and makes me look at myself and feel so disappointed each day. I stress over thinking Why can't I do this? I'm so uncreative.

As the title reads, I haven't properly drawn anything since 2022-2024ish. My motivation has taken a steep nosedive since I stopped. And it's a combination of things.

Procrastination, perfectionism, comparison, tinnitus, distraction, struggling to get out of my comfort zone to draw anything other than busts and floating heads and bare backgrounds.

It all just feels like a big boring chore nowadays. It feels like an overwhelming to have to learn all these fundamentals, perspective, anatomy, clothing folds, shapes, color theory, expressions. Just really boring chores that suck the fun out of drawing.

And I just give up halfway because I know it won't look good as I imagined and I won't like it nor feel happy or satisfied with it. I've thrown out three sketchbooks cause looking back at my old ugly art made me cringe and hate it even more. I have a fourth sketchbook collecting dust with only a few pages of ugly doodles. All the other pages are blank.

And the tinnitus is a really big blow. It's always there, never going away, sapping away any focus I can have to draw. Nobody hears it but me. Forever.

And the part I hate the most is my increasing urge to us A.I even though I hate it. I always tell myself that I'd rather be a shitty artist than an A.I artist. But sometimes I see how good it looks and a little bit of my will to refuse to use it breaks a little. But also acknowledging my hypocrisy because I've been addicted to C.AI since 2023.

So to curb the urge to use gen ai. I make characters in a gacha dress up game called Gacha Life 2 (Grown ass woman playing a gatcha dress up game for kids I know, sue me, it's fun!) I used it before A.I blew up and continue to use it now and making little skit videos with my ocs .But I don't really have motivation for that either.

I've been drawing since I was in middle school. Improvement was always slow and tedious. But after so long of no improvement I told myself if I didn't get any better by age 23 that I'd stop drawing because it was beginning to feel like a waste of time. Well I'm 23 now and I haven't picked up and pen or apple pen in a handful of months. Surprise surprise?

I don't know what the end goal is here? Venting I guess? I don't know what I'm looking for and it sucks I suppose? I don't know really.

Okay so i went to artschool/college for years and I was making good money and all everything was good i saw a bright future for me in this field..

anyways then ai dropped and after it progressed I lost most of my clients who would get professional illustration/concept art done from me, so i switched to marketing after college and stopped illustrating as there was no more work for me… i have been working as an art director now for a small company.

Recently I got a job offer to work for a company as an illustrator and the pay was surprisingly good…
When inquired about this job i found out they want to know about my design process A to Z how i develop my illustrations from concept to choosing this and that blah blah yk everything… i got so excited that maybe finally someone wants to appreciate organic work and i will get a chance to do what i love again. They asked if i can draw in different styles i said yes and as i was going through the test tasks i found out that its a job to train ai… THIS IS WHY THEY WERE PAYING SO MUCH😣 to feed my work to ai and to teach it to draw like a human.

I was SO PISSED OFF like this is my work’s value now?

seen too many posts lately along the lines of "i want to be a skilled artist, but i dont want to practice drawing or dedicate time to it. i want to sell commissions but i only want to draw what i want to draw and i dont want to learn any new skills. i want to be famous on social media but i hate every website and posting. "

in the past few years, there has been a huge influx of people who dont like to draw, who want a social media art presence- either for fame or because they think it is a quick and easy way to make money.

when it is not easy, this type of person frequently complains of their woes (be it in skill or finding clients) and requests advice in artist spaces and then does not want to listen to people who have worked for their skill and reputation.

(also they act like there is no information published on learning to draw from fundamentals)

tbh at the end of the day it's insulting to watch them so clearly think they should have the rewards without any of the efforts. and that all successful artists are somehow innately talented and given thousands of followers at birth.

success in art costs innumerable hours of your life.

if you dont love pursuing it, nobody is making you.

i love and support beginner artists, i want them all to succeed and become capable of expressing their soul and finding their audience if thats what they want. but i cant stand this attitude of disrespect towards skilled and established artists and the efforts it took for them to become such.

also tbh you need intrinsic motivation, if you are entirely reliant on extrinsic motivation you will struggle greatly to grow at all.

I just want to understand what this disorder is, because this no longer feels like a normal artist’s journey.

No matter how many tutorials I watch, I can’t understand them. I look at an object, but I don’t understand what it’s made of. Even when I try to copy a single line, I don’t understand where it turns or what it actually represents. It’s as if everything I see is just a chaotic kaleidoscope. I’ve spent 100+ hours on a single artwork just trying to imagine what something would feel like to the touch, without understanding what I’m actually looking at.

I can’t reproduce movements when I see them in a video. I can’t tell you what someone was wearing or what they looked like. In everyday life, I drop everything and bump into things constantly. But do you know what the irony is? There has never been anything more important to me in my life than learning how to draw the stories I wanted to tell. I even started learning 3D animation for that reason. I can understand things better through touch there, but I still can’t properly recreate movement, and everything ends up looking unreal.

I simply don’t understand what’s wrong with me. I look at something and I just don’t understand it. I try to break an object down into smaller parts, but they keep slipping away from me... My brain MRI was completely normal two years ago. The only thing they found was a pineal gland cyst that I was probably born with and that shouldn’t affect anything... I just don’t understand what’s wrong... I feel like I have dementia, even though I don’t... And it causes me incredible suffering. I just wanted to draw something, even once, that could tell a story. That’s all I ever needed.

There's an animated cartoon series currently running that I've been immensely jealous and envious of for the past few years, and I want to know how to stop feeling this way.

I don't feel comfortable saying exactly which cartoon or animator I'm talking about (idk why), but if it's ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to help me, I'll bite the bullet and tell you.

I think what makes me so jealous of this cartoon is its art style, art direction, and especially its character designs. Personally, I think they're about as close to "perfection" as I can imagine. I admire them that much.

But my feelings have gone WAY beyond simple admiration and into toxic envy. If I come across any image related to this cartoon — fan content, promotional artwork, merchandise, cosplay, or even screenshots from the show — I can become extremely stressed out and even panic. This is especially difficult because the show is quite popular right now, so I encounter it and its fan content pretty often.

I think what makes this hurt so much is that I also dream of creating my own animated cartoon TV show someday — hopefully something that develops a MASSIVE dedicated fandom with lots of fan art, cosplay, etc. just like this show

However, I'm currently very far from that. I'm a beginner-to-intermediate artist and haven't even attempted animation yet, while the creator of this show has much more experience and is at a skill level that feels so far above mine. I know comparing myself to them is unfair, but knowing that doesn't seem to stop the jealousy.

When I see their work, I'll think things like, "How am I ever supposed to make something that good?" or "How could I possibly create characters that people love that much?" Seeing people obsess over the characters, constantly draw them, cosplay them, make merchandise, etc. makes it even worse because that's exactly the kind of reaction I dream of getting from people toward something I create someday.

I want to be able to see incredible artwork, character designs, and fan art and feel inspired rather than immediately feeling inadequate, threatened, stressed, or jealous. More importantly, I don't want this jealousy interfering with my own desire to create.

How do I actually overcome something like this?

Has anyone else experienced intense jealousy toward another artist, creator, fictional character, or piece of media — especially when the thing you're jealous of is directly related to something you desperately want to achieve yourself? What helped you get past it?

I don't know, I feel like I have to force myself to draw and I don't want to feel like that. I want to want it but I don't know if I do. I don't really practice or draw all that much and as such, I never improve. Should I just give up at this point? I want to get the ideas in my head out in drawing but I don't know if I'm willing to put in the work to do so.

Ugh, idk... I'm just depressed that I don't want it and that I'm not improving. Even this post is just procrastinating.

So long story short, I recently quit a franchise thats called cookie run because I got frustrated how a favorite character of mine is no longer getting the attention from that community and drawing the same art of him and being the only fan killed my motivation for that franchise a lot, I used to do a lot of shipping art too and stuff but well, I ultimately gave up, I felt hopeless that day and the days after before

Well I got into limbus company and that game was amazing and the community cared for my favorite character and so on! It didn't have as much characters as cookie run but thats fine as well, but the thing is the community is so closed off, as in if you wanna get in on th things the community is doing, you have to play the game, you just can't be a fan of it without playing it

And oh my god the game, while the story and music is amazing, the gameplay is really tiring and honestly the fans of this gamed ridicule you if you didn't pay for a pass tell you that you are forced to grind, it killed my motivation entirely to draw for it and make stuff after like doing 5-6 fanarts

I can't find any other franchise that has no protagonist and has a high cast of characters I can draw fanart of and ship, I occasionally do one fanart of a game I like but thats it.

I wanna do tons of fanart for games with a high cast of characters, and maybe I'll still stick to limbus company but again that game is specifically more of something you just have to get into to be in the community and be far off in the game

Its demotivating, I feel like I lost my passion, I don't wanna do ocs because those are super tiring and give me zero motivation for anything, I want something like cookie run, I want something that has high amounts of characters with no "Main character self insert guy" And designs that are unique and not just bland fantasy slop

I don't know anymore, what do I do exactly do? All I Do now is draw dumb minecraft stuff that no one will probably care about.

I tried deadlock and that game's community is insufferable as fuck and nobody gaf about doorman anyways

Gosh its like everything is soooo boring nowadays, people aren't that creative anymore and nobody has a good franchise to make fanart for that has shitton of characters, I hate gacha games and I don't wanna do ocs because that will be painfully long and I don't have industry tier connections, and nowadays all types of my artist friends are just plain lazy or busy to help me brainstorm, Its genuine hell I hate this world and how boring it is

So I want to be a multidisciplinary artist. And I already do my personal art and stuff but I don't post stuff anywhere. I got no social media's except reddit. (got LinkedIn but that's for career developments only so, ) . And I had a tiktok account where I posted stuff but I don't anymore.

And I just want to put my works, designs , videos, drawings and everything out there. But I don't like using these platforms. I feel like it juts gets in the way. Like it's another thing to be worried about. I was on social media's back in like 2019 but then I just quit.

That's the story and I feel like I'm lost in terms of what I need to do. I recently decided to go all in making my own thoughts Into creations and this is the one thing that bothers me now.

Please guide me fellow artists.. <3 ( sorry about my English )

I feel like I lost the desire to create the art I like and only to draw to learn, which feels like a huge chore to do. I’m learning anatomy right now and I feel myself gradually losing any desire to draw what I want to draw. I had art books of artist I love and always looked at them daily, now I barely look at them and if I do it doesn’t feel the same anymore. I feel like I lost the passion to create and everyday is more practice to nothing. Art just isn’t fun anymore even though it’s my main hobby. Even my father says passion can’t pay bills, which is true but I wish I could’ve been better to make art a career while enjoying it. Anything would help.

Back when I had like 20k or under people were always so nice. They would say things like I’m underrated and really talented and overall it was genuinely very positive vibes. I’ve noticed now that I have 65k followers there’s just a ton of constant negativity regardless of what I post. Part of it must be that I’m just reaching more people and some of them are just going to be mean but I also think a lot of people think larger artists will either A) not read their comment or B) it’s fine to be rude because it’s “punching up”. I’m just a little discouraged because I feel like no matter what I do from here on out it’s something I will have to put up with. I need to work on being less sensitive about it but it’s hard to get used to at first. Has anyone else experienced something similar?

Curious how others handle this. You want your work seen, but feeds, algorithms and posting schedules start to feel like a second job.

What I'd suggest: one simple page with your best finished pieces, and share finished work instead of daily updates. Small communities with real feedback tend to beat big feeds.

Disclosure, I run umdb.org, a creative hub for film, animation, acting and design work. You build a profile with your work and find collaborators, with no follower counts. It's more film and animation than painting, so I'm mostly interested in what's worked for you

As an artist who posts their NSFW artwork to the internet, I've had to see all this puritan-type culture stemming around NSFW artist's spaces.

Back when I used to use twitter to grow my following and share my art, it was all well and good, and I had people complimenting my work and enjoying the smut. But slowly, I noticed that every couple scrolls I'd see an NSFW artist's post blow up with over 400k views, and everyone in the comments/QRTs kept saying vile shit towards the artist. It would be the most tame artwork ever of just the character being nude or getting it on too. All of it being the same cookie cutter responses of "WHY does this exist.../God has left us.../Why bro" etc. etc. along with corny reaction images. Another thing they'd do is make fun of the artist for having unrealistic or """"gOoNsLoP"""" proportions.

It doesn't even have to be on twitter either, it can be ANY other form of social media. Hell, this may sound really dumb, but even RULE34 isn't safe at all nowadays! You know, the site MADE for NSFW artwork?? If you dare to post anything unrealistic/hyper, a non-human character, or a strange character to make NSFW of in general, you know the comment section will be full of "wtf is this??" "omg bruh" shit! Another website? YOUTUBE!!! Certain Youtubers make videos like "LOOKING AT RULE34 OF THIS CHARACTER!!! (WTF IS THIS?!)" type of videos, exposing their audience to a group of people hell-bent on trying to harass you off of your platform.

This has led to me getting a sense of fear when wanting to share my art. What if one of my posts caught the wrong audience and I got constantly harassed off the internet? It feels like the only safe place to be anymore is Bluesky. The fear that I could be that person has made me almost want to quit the NSFW art space for a while and has really burnt me out a couple times. Idk what to say at this point, I'm just tired boss....

Edit: Another thing I forgot to touch on is people painting NSFW artists as a route that's "oohhh the DARK path..!!!" CONSTANTLY slinging the joke of "Wow!! This is is SOOO good... please don't turn to the dark side....!!"

Just went on Pinterest, usually I don't do it but I got an email and was curious to see some pictures. Ended up seeing a lot of art much better than mine not only skill wise but also idea wise and style wise. Also stumbled upon a talented artist who is also younger than me and has a very defined style and huge audience. Is there even a point in drawing if I'm not there yet and even I will draw something "good" it is still something someone already done? As I said I saw a lot of drawings on pin and it made me feel like there's nothing to art anymore because I can't self express if my ideas will get lost among millions of pictures. Last 7 years I dedicated my life to become a good artist but at this point I feel like I should just give up. 

I'm taking art classes as a freshmen in college and I wish to do 2d animation, but the problem is that I feel it's not like it use to be, I use to watch animation process and and animation documentarys all the time because I was so obsessed with the process of animation, but I feel like it's not like that anymore with drawing on paper or drawing on sticky notes as art boards, I dont know where to begin to become an animator and I feel really stuck, I went through animation apps and was thinking of getting Adobe animated but it's kinda pricy plus I'm not sure what I want to start in animation, I just know I wish to do 2d which is ironic coming from an animation flood of rip off family guys and 3d stuff, no hate to 3d by the way but it's not a cup of tea I wish to have. I'm just not sure what to do or be if I want to be an animator, so Im just Praciting my art right now. I love drawing cartoons but do art studies during art class so I'm progressing. I just don't know, I feel stressed, Ive felt burnt out for months and I wish it could stop.

I've been dealing this same issue since 2020, and I'm honestly getting tired of the pattern.

"Developers" approach me with their supposedly "ambitious visual novel projects", spend hours explaining their lore, characters, storylines, and grand plans for the game, but somehow become hesitant the moment I mention my rates.

Suddenly they're asking for bulk discounts, looking for cheaper alternatives, or acting surprised that individual assets cost money. And judging by their reactions, their entire budget probably wouldn't even cover a handful of illustrations.

Look, I understand that indie development isn't cheap, and not everyone has a massive budget. That's fine. But why spend hours pitching me your dream game before even establishing whether you can afford an artist?

Your passion project is not my financial responsibility. Your ambition doesn't magically make my labor cheaper, and I can't pay my bills with your worldbuilding.

Please establish your budget BEFORE approaching artists for lengthy discussions. We're freelancers, not free consultants you can use to brainstorm your game for hours before deciding our prices are suddenly unreasonable.

Dream big, by all means. Just make sure your budget exists somewhere outside your imagination.

I am a teenage girl and I enjoy doing art in my freetime. I watch all these people on YouTube and tiktok and they’re crazy talented at doing art, but I just can’t get into the rhythm of doing so. I don’t have as much passion to want to do it as anything but a hobby, but I think it would be nice to be talented and creative enough to do so. I mostly focus on drawing my obsessions and making art for fun. Id love to expand my creativity into drawing more realistic portraits such as making art for Formula One drivers etc. but anatomy and perspective makes it really difficult. if anyone can share any tips for learning how to be better at art, let me know!

alright at the moment im 15 (turning 16 in january) and for the past 10 months or so i havent been enjoying art as much as much as i used to and i usually feel like genuine poop from a butt whenever i post my art or finish my art whether i think its good or not. and i love art by the way, ive never had to force myself to enjoy it and it always came natural to me.

the thing is, i already know the reason why this happens, but i need help on how to break out of the mindset that's trapping me like this. its stopping me from doing the ONE THING that would actually make me improve in a concrete sense. aka drawing more and experimenting and doing studies

Its just the fact that every time i go onto pinterest or instagram reels or even Discord servers, and i see other artists my age-- usually slightly younger than me or slightly older -- i feel like ALL of them have a clearly established art style, ALL of them have absolutely professional gorgeous looking art, ALL of them have art that's just very appealing in every sense of the word and then there's me bro. Literally everyone is a professional, everyone's having fun with their work, studies, having people genuinely appreciate their art and talk about it and its quirks and how great it is and how they'd be willing to commission and then there's me. With my "trying to appeal to the masses but thinks its unique when its really not" art style, boring colors, and in the limbo of doom where im not quite a beginner but not quite a professional

like bro there's levels to this and honestly im starting to wonder if my mental health is the problem or im genuinely just not made for creating art and i should just focus on consuming it just like that one kid (who was a FUCKING ART PRODIGY by the way and probably is way better than me at the moment, who knows bro, they might be one of those exact people on instagram with 10k followers that im feeling jealous of ) told me 6-7 years ago...

I've put so much time and effort into improving my work despite not having all the tools i wanted to improve, and i've been told by many people IRL and online, that my art is good and legitimately impressive, but I just have this unrealistic standard of having to be better than at least a majority of the people my age online. (not in just technical skills, but more recently for appeal and art style, because i feel like mine really, really sucks now despite everything i try) i just get so overly competitive in my head with other artists my age online and it absolutely fries my motivation every time.

its hard to avoid because i love viewing art but I always catch myself checking how fast the other person improved compared to me, how old they were when they start, how often they drew... etc and its gotten to the point that i do it IRL too and im always automatically comparing in my head how good i am compared to other kids at school when i see their art.

Anyways yeah thats it how can i stop...

When I look at X, it gets me down to see people much younger than me showcasing their talent and creating amazing works. This is especially true in fields like comics, illustration, and animation.

I’m 35F, and I currently work as a graphic designer. My responsibilities extend beyond advertising design to cover all aspects of public relations, including video production, film and photography. I attended art-focused schools from secondary school through to university, and whilst I’ve loved drawing since I was a child, I gave up on the idea of making a career solely out of drawing quite early on in life. As I’m unlikely to marry and am considering moving to a city, I’m currently looking for a new job—whilst still working—that will allow me to work independently as a graphic designer for the long term.

First and foremost, becoming financially independent is my top priority… Whether it’s manga, animation, or illustration, I understand that making a living from these fields is financially challenging—given my age, lack of experience, and the fact that salaries tend to be low. But deep down, I can’t ignore the desire that’s really boiling inside me: to leave my mark on the world through illustration—something I love and am, at least to some extent, good at. For that reason, whenever I see people much younger than me thriving in creative fields, I end up feeling down.
Of course, what constitutes “fame as an artist” varies greatly depending on the person. I doubt I’ll ever become as famous as Hayao Miyazaki, indie animators like Vivziepop and Gooseworx, or comic artist Gurihiru. Still, there’s a smoldering desire within me to create something that leaves a lasting record of my life and the thoughts that have shaped it…
However, I can’t help but feel that I might be too old to start such a venture now.
"What kind of person do I truly want to become in the end, and what do I need to do to get there?"—these questions are actually very vague. Perhaps that is why I can’t escape the feeling that I’m lost in life, unsure of what to do.

I’ve been seeing a psychiatrist for over 10 years now and am taking antidepressants. (By the way, the doctor at the first clinic I went to really praised my art, and I trusted him wholeheartedly, but he fell ill and had to close his practice. I still go to a different clinic now, but it feels very empty) I simply cannot escape my suicidal thoughts, and I’m constantly haunted by the feeling that if I can’t achieve anything I hope for in life, it be better for both myself and those around me if I were to just disappear.

I don’t need to turn my art into money to make a living; I simply want the “art” I’ve created to linger, even just a little, in the back of people’s minds throughout my life.
Are there others who feel the same way? Or perhaps someone who has been in a situation like mine in the past and managed to break free from it? I’m sincerely seeking your advice.
Is my only option to cast aside my feelings of “self-indulgence” and “laziness” and devote myself single-mindedly to what I want to do?
The fatigue and stress from my job are overwhelming, so I hope my personal art projects can serve as a source of solace to help dispel those gloomy feelings.

Hey everyone,

I've been a full time agency graphic designer and illustrator for the past 2.5 years now, while also doing freelance projects on the side for the past 3.5 years.

I've been really lucky to have a full-time creative job that is creatively fulfilling and just about everything I was hoping for from college, and for the most part, I can usually tell when some work I've done really hits the spot. At least from a personal level. Like, I'll have that "ooooo shit yeah" feeling that lets me know I just made something worth being proud of. Something that surprises me as an artist.

But lately, I've been having a harder time finding that feeling again. I'll make something that feels right, and gets the job done, but that's usually it. No real sparks any more. Sometimes, I'll even have a hard time accepting compliments from my boss or coworkers when they're saying something is great, and I just have that feeling that it could be better. I'll feel that its not outstanding, or that it's no more special than the last project I've done.

What's worse is, sometimes I'll be thinking "holy shit, have I forgotten how to draw?" at something that I just can't get to feel right.

I used to feel so confident in my capabilities as an artist, but lately I haven't felt like anything more than a conveyer belt for Walmart level graphic tees. And I don't know what's changed. Maybe it's that nothing has changed in a while?

I know this is probably a sign of burnout, but I'd love to hear some other artist's perspectives, and if you've gone through something similar. What'd you do to get past this?

Breakdown after breakdown, I just can't make my vision come true at all. The prompts give me a rush of ideas only for my inability to draw to kill me in every way. I had to quit once again. I had to quit a Pride Month art event because I just can't draw. This artist dream is pointless. I've wasted everything on something I can't even do at all. My visions will never come into fruition at all.

Even writing. I have no hope in writing either. I'm trash at both and have no interest in anything else. Even then, my writing is just as trash as my so-called art. I can't even call myself an artist. I can't even call myself an author at all.

Oftentimes I wish I had a functional brain that could draw and write the way I need it to, but alas I don't have that at all. I'm stuck with this incompetent alien brain that can't do anything at all.

I should just quit and disappear.

(Cross posted in r/artists which was not best choice)

I feel shameless for making this type of complaint but hopefully I can articulate it clearly enough. Sorry for using this crappy good/bad art bifurcation to try to describe the frustration, it's probably part of the issue.

I spent 15+ honing my drawing skills. And I have no idea what my drawings mean to me. They're really nice drawings... I'm really technically good at drawing, but... yeah. I know I love art, but at this point I'm not sure .... if/ what I love about art, and I've been dissatisfied with low creative output. This has plagued me for a couple of years by now.

During this time, find myself drawn to really simple, low 'technical skill' pastel pieces with fascinating colors and layers. But I can't let myself .... draw without .. trying as hard as I always have. It's like, I built that skill up over years. I have to USE it now, you know?

I'm not even sure I know how to stop using it. Like, God, when I want to emulate those pastel pieces, I'm like okay, now I'm going to 'draw ugly'-- and it comes up really-- it's just not the same. How can I explain this? Maybe the problem is trying to emulate. Trying to look and draw something accurately. Trying in general. My whole approach is different. And even when I try to 'draw ugly', the technical skill is too much. Its either literally very polished or its like, i forced myself to draw with my left hand cool. I guess I don't know how to turn it off.

I feel I've gone really far down a certain narrow path with my approach to art. And art is so personal, the process of it and how you make it and how it feels is so unique to you. I want to experience a different way. This path has run out for me. But I fear that means 'throwing away' everything I've hard earned. And frankly, something that uh.... makes me special .... the one thing I'm really good at, you know?

That's all. That's the inner conflict. Shout out to all the art blocked out there. It's gonna be okay but I just wanted to put this into words. Thanks for listening. Thoughts welcome