I consider myself to be an intermediate level illustrator after attending art school, and I know if I put in the time and effort my skill level would increase, perhaps one day to an advanced level.
But before I went to art school I found drawing to be frustrating, humiliating and a skill that was impossible to improve, which turned out to be self doubt overshadowing my progress.
I wish I'd known overthinking would affect my progress as an artist, and that the path to becoming a better illustrator is not a straight line but rather a jagged one, full of highs and lows.
That's why I found this inspirational illustrated instructional comic strip thingy by Jacob Andrews to be a very-very good read for a budding artist, especially this bit about the ups and downs of drawer life.
Read 5 Tips For Learning To Draw (That I Wish I Had Known) here
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”