Confession: Never Give Up

"Never give up. You'll become something amazing."

Not posting this on the A-C cause god know what people there would say. I'm trying to send a positive message here, it'd be ruined by the negativity over there.

Anyway!
I just want to send a message out to EVERYONE on here. Everyone that makes art whether it be drawing, painting, sculpting, singing, dancing, playing instruments, writing, acting, filmmaking, animation...whatever you do...

Just don't give up. Don't ever give up doing what you love.

Even if you're frustrated, even if you're not popular. If you're not noticed. If you don't get feedback. It's WORTH it, it will be in the future, just you wait and see.

I still have a long way to go myself. But look at people like DestinyBlue and Oceanchan. "they're so popular and good!"
But look at how long they've been here.
Look at how long they've been making art. Practicing, improving.

They're big and known because they didn't give up.

"I'll never be like them. I'll never be that good."

I get it. I say that to myself, a lot. But you know what? We NEVER KNOW. We'll never know if we'll be as good as them. Maybe someday we will be, if we don't quit.

I want you all to know something.
I've been seriously drawing for nine months now. Under a year. Look at this picture here. This art is by me, I drew it recently.
This is one of my first digital drawings: [link]
pretty god awful, right? I drew that August of last year.
I drew this one in December: [link]
Better than the first one, but still pretty bad, right? The coloring is atrocious and the anatomy is way off.

Compare those two to this. Pretty huge difference, wouldn't you say?

And no, I'm not super talented.
You can improve and be just as good as me and better. Please do better! I love looking at good art, it helps me learn. It inspires me.
And it should inspire you, too. Having a bad day? Other's work discouraging you? Take a break. Stay offline for a day.

You should take time to build your audience...but not too much!!
Posting on other sites, promoting yourself through chat and forums, making new friends, getting yourself out there. It's important, but don't let it take up all your time. Do that on a relaxing day or when you're taking breaks while drawing! Limit yourself, you need time for life and your art!

PRACTICE AND LEARN!
Practice certainly does making perfect. It's frustrating, but you need to take a deep breath and troubleshoot. Look at what's wrong. How can you fix it? Find the best solution. TAKE YOUR TIME. Nobody is rushing you but yourself.
LEARN.
TAKE CRITIQUE.
HAVE AN OPEN MIND
If you can't do these things then you won't make it. Your anatomy sucks? Study it, practice it, as boring as it is. You can take breaks every now and again, I am right now. You're not going to become amazing at it overnight.
Take critique. "Your art sucks" is NOT critique. Take constructive criticism. Listen to what others are saying, they see what's wrong with your art and they can help you fix it and make it look better.
Have an open mind.
Be creative, be willing to try new techniques and styles. You won't be a happy camper if you limit yourself. Try everything at least once. If you don't like it, don't go back to it!

Look for inspiration
Look for artists for inspiration, you might learn some tricks and techniques from them. *sonnyaws 's tutorials helped me color this piece, she's my biggest inspiration

remember, references are OKAY
using stock photos or other images for anatomy reference is okay, as long as you don't trace/copy directly. Throw in your own style, make it yours!

You CAN make a profit
If you sell something fairly and someone tells you it's overpriced ignore them. Seriously, it's your art. God forbid if you make a proper payment. That means you CAN sell stuff for actual MONEY, not just points.
If you're not 100% confident but wondering...heck, take the leap. You never know, it could be your first step into starting a business as an artist. I'm going to try to take that leap soon with making prints, and I couldn't be more excited. I don't have a wide audience so I'm not sure of my chances at success, but I'll try my best anyway. Even if I fail, I'll just improve more and try again.

HAVE FUN
Most of all, have fun with your art. Don't let others stop you from doing what you love. If you get busy or tired, or get artist's block, don't freak out! Your "weapons of art" as my art teacher calls them aren't going anywhere. You have plenty of time to grow and build yourself as an artist. Also remember many of us are still in high school. Some of the pros have gone to school for art and learned stuff there. Be patient, stay in school, keep up your grades. Soon enough you can go to art school too, if you want.

Remember, you CAN achieve your dreams and goals. Heck, look at Napoleon Bonaparte, he almost ruled the world, and he was picked on when he was a kid. Look at Leonardo DaVinci, his artworks were amazing. AND he was a scientist.
Just look at all the achievements humans have made. And you're human too, they're not special. Most of them started out just like you and me. Unnoticed, teased, bullied. But with determination and effort, as long as we keep doing what we love, who knows? Maybe normal people like us will live our dreams of being successful one day. Maybe some of us will go on to become something amazing.
Actually, I'm sure all of us will. Because good things always come to those who stay true to themselves and never give up.


I'm so sorry this is so incredibly long but I've had it bottled up for a while now and I've been too tired and not right in my mind to post it. I had to have a specific mindset going.

I'm also sorry I'm sooo active on here some days and if it gets annoying but I just have so much energy with my art and stuff lately.

Also could people plleeeaaasseee spread this around. You don't have permission to directly repost the picture but if you want to copy paste the description or post the link somewhere go right ahead. I want as many people to read this as possible. I have a feeling a lot of people need it lately...

Thank you, and everyone, stay awesome