Have you ever stopped drawing for fear of failure?

[KleinerApfel]

Your painting in your Avatar is lovely TheLordIsMybanner.

Thank you!

I have started painting again since my previous post in November, I am so happy!

I'd been under a very deep depression last year and up until last week, when praise God is began lifting at last.
During the last few weeks I negan using pastels to express a few things, to distract myself, comfort myself, even sometimes just doodling aimlessly.

One of my pictures was very sad, but I was strangely released by doing it, and I love it even now I'm not so much in that place.

My current avatar is a section from one that followed a few days afterwards, which was the joyful expression of worshipping God and seeking to touch His face. I wasn't quite "there" yet, but the painting was the expression of where I wanted to be.
I am getting closer to that again, reaching up and feeling for the warmth of His love.

God bless you all - keep doodling, playing, expressing, and don't fret over the results, just find some way to make your gift flow and bless you.

Love Sue

 

[Elesaid]

The Lord is my Banner, I am SO pleased to hear that you are drawing again. That is wonderful news!

I began drawing too but it has come in dribs and drabs. I drew my daughter's face while she coloured in and we went on holiday to this amazing farmstay and I wanted to draw the view of the rolling hills and cow paddocks that I saw every morning. I started and kept drawing for a couple of hours. The time went by so fast but I didn't manage to finish it. I got stuck on this one tree, so I took photos to complete it at home but they do the scene such injustice that I think I am going to have to leave that one be.

 

[Eskarina]

Drawing is an awesome talent and remember that no matter how bad it is, there is always someone who is worse than you and no matter how good it is, there is always someone batter than you. Now this may seem like a bit of a neative way to view your talent, but it's valuable. It does two things. I reminds you always to be thankful for the talent that you have, and it keeps your ego in check.

Oh, and never be afraid to try.

 

[Elesaid]

Great advice Eskarina! Thankyou.

 

[BrycePelletier]

I haven't drawn but a few things, that could be considered finished, since I was 16 and Image comics used some of my original work that I sent them w/o my permission. I'm 26 now. The few attempts that were made came out very well. In 10 years I have about 13 works that I have done. I have also decided recently to switch media and medium from pencil and paper to airbrush and sheet metal. May God bless me in this, for I intend it to become my sole income.

 

[Goldenrod]

I am an artist and sometimes I have felt the feelings you have. But with practice, you'll get better. Also, NEVER be afraid how things might turn out in your artwork. If you stink at it the first time, keep drawing it until you get better.

When I first started drawing in the anime style, I stunk. But after 5 years of drawing, WOW, they look great. God gave you the gift of creativity and he wants you to use it to impact the world. ^^

So never be afraid how your drawing will look! Just draw it. That's what I did in my 12+ sketch books and my drawings are still improving! Thank the Lord for all the artistic skills in us!

 

[inhisimage73]

A different way to look at it....when we draw/paint/sketch or whatever we do as artists....it is a form of worship, and God adores our work!

 

[ladybugforJesus]

You know what I have come to learn is that what you think is a mistake, can and almost always will be interpreted as your style. Which is something you learn to appreciate and use to your advantage.

And always remember that an artist is there own worst critic. You may see that little error, but it is the farthest thing from anybody's mind, especially those that can't draw themselves! They are just in awe of what they are seeing!

This is just in my experience anyways! God Bless!

 

[MrStaggerLee]

I've experienced this many times. Since I'm a professional artist with deadlines, that gets extra tricky. What do you do when you have a commission due or overdue and everything you draw looks like you held the pencil with your toes? When others tell me it looks fine, that only frustrates me more, because I can't see it; how do I know it looks how I want it to look, when perfectionism keeps me from seeing it properly?

There are a few things I do to get past it. The first, most important, and hardest is draw anyway. Set yourself an assignment if you have to. "Today I will draw five sketches." Not five good sketches, just five sketches. Some days they're sketches of bugs and mushroom people mangling Shakespeare quotes; some days one will turn out to be worth finishing. Every once in a while I'll have a day when I'm too angry at everything to do more than scribble big black jagged scribbles until the lead breaks. That's okay. Paper and pencil leads are cheap.

The next thing is to immerse myself in the actual process of drawing. Rather than focusing on the end result, I enjoy the sensation of the pencil or pen moving across the paper, the different shades of lead or the sharpness of ink. I find lines that please me and go over them again. Sometimes, after doing that for a while, I suddenly see the whole thing again and realize it's actually pretty fine.

And finally, when I'm unsure, I work in stages. Do rough sketches on cheap typing paper, then light-box them onto good paper. Ink that, then scan it and print it out, do my coloring on the printed copy. Then, at any stage, if I don't like what I have, I can re-trace or re-print and start over from that stage rather than having to redo the whole thing.

Whatever you do, don't give up. When you give in to that voice of fear, you give it power over you. It will take that power and grow into other areas of your life. Don't let it.

 

[Saint Melania]

My problem is mostly from a lack of time. That seems to be more the concern than "what if it's a failure" because if I had the time to do it over, that wouldn't bother me. If I don't have the time, and it turns out wrong, I won't be able to do it over again. Some of my best art comes about the second or third try, rather than the first which I consider "just practice" anyway.

 

[artistpersona]

At times I have anger at my drawings and just get very flustered, but that is a bit different from what you are talking about.
Just draw! Maybe think to yourself; I'll just doodle a bit, nothing much... If you think it looks bad someone else could love it!

 

[65days]

forgive me for skimming this thread, but i wanted to reply as i draw , and i am fine art trained, and for me, drawing has always been a process, and personally i try and embrace mistakes, problematic areas and failure, i love failure as it's a productive tool, and really allows you to let go as much as possible.

hope i dont sound patronising or anything, but i always find a few loose exercises help before hand too, like simple body stretches (sounds strange - but works), and also try stuff like drawing your entire work without removing the pencil. Or drawing with your "wrong" hand, and also not looking at the paper whilst you draw. (even if you go off the paper).

hope these things help, more as exercises to benefit what YOU want from drawing

 

[Starting again]

I love to draw, I used to draw all the time, just because it relaxed me, I have never been very good, but it ever seemed to matter, and then suddenly, I didn't want to draw anymore, because I can't draw well...
I miss it, but everytime I start to draw I stop because I know it wont come out well, and then I'll be disapointed...

 

[MrStaggerLee]

For those like Starting Again who don't want to begin because they won't be satisfied by the end product: how about drawing some stuff that isn't supposed to be good?

For instance, you can get a lot more comfortable with your tools just by drawing geometric borders in the corners of the page, or drawing little cartoony objects, or 'drawing' the letters of words. I know I'm not the only professional artist who has a stock of dumb little critters I draw to loosen up. My studio partners all have theirs too. For me, it's bugs and mushrooms. One of my studio partners draws geometric eye-mandalas, and the other two draw chibis (squashed childlike cartoon-stylized people, like Calvin of Calvin & Hobbes).

65days has a good point, too, about doing warmup exercises. Stretch and massage your hands. Begin by doing something simple and work up to something more complex. As a comic artist, I usually start my work day by inking the previous day's pencils, because I only have to go over the lines that are already there; ideally, I start by filling in black areas on something I've already inked. After I've done that for a while, my hands are loose enough for sketching.

I think what messes up a lot of aspiring artists is the media portrayal of art as something that just effortlessly flows out of you if you have 'the gift'. But consider that the media portrays musicians that way too, and yet you wouldn't expect to just pick up a violin for the first time and play Mozart like a pro. Practice, practice -- learn to have fun with your practice. On a really good day, it 'just flows', but for every one day like that, I have nine where it's just my job. This is fine, because I love my job.

 

[Elesaid]

I think what messes up a lot of aspiring artists is the media portrayal of art as something that just effortlessly flows out of you if you have 'the gift'. But consider that the media portrays musicians that way too, and yet you wouldn't expect to just pick up a violin for the first time and play Mozart like a pro. Practice, practice -- learn to have fun with your practice. On a really good day, it 'just flows', but for every one day like that, I have nine where it's just my job. This is fine, because I love my job.

I believe this is true too, about the media portrayal. I finally decided that I wasn't gifted for art and let go. The funny thing is that I actually drew a picture today! After so long and it turned out to be something that I liked and enjoyed. At the beginning I prayed that the Lord would bless my hands and my work and I reckon He did, ey. I was drawing a thistle and it took me 3 hours just to draw the bottom part of the flower! I felt a lot of impatience and lost half an eraser, lol. I felt so relieved when I finally got it to look like the real thing. It's still not finished but over halfway and I just had to come and tell you guys that I finally drew something and enjoyed it!

Funny you mention the violin too...I recently began learning how to play and practice, practice, practice is the thing!

 

[Starting again]

awww.... I want to start to draw again now! yay! thanks peoples you're so cool for me!

 

[MrStaggerLee]

I think if you enjoy drawing, that's all the 'gift' that matters. If you like it, you'll do it, and if you do it, you get better. Sure, some people have amazing natural ability -- but I'm not one of them. One of my studio mates can draw amazing, realistic figures from memory, no matter what the angle or lighting, and that's definitely a talent. But you don't have to have a talent like that to be an artist. All you have to do is love it.

 

[Silent Enigma]

It seems to be that artists are very critical of their own work. I know the feeling.

But I'm getting back in the swing of things. The key is to go to a place (for me it's the library) where you're there just for the purpose of drawing. Then you are less inclined to get distracted and do something else.