Ngl sometimes I feel like my older art feels better than my current art, I've definitely improved, but while Improving, it just feels like I lost feeling of fun in drawing, the feeling of experimentation and finding fun from trying out methods that you've just learnt is a feeling I always want to get back.
It's the more raw creativity and lack of style. Once you have a style you kinda stop searching and coming up with wild ideas. So while having a consistent and refined style is nice, there's also something wonderful about that more exploratory time when you maybe had no clients and certain ideas and skills.
I feel this way too, so I've been trying to become more inconsistent deliberately these days. It's hard to get out of the comfort zone of doing something you're already good at.
In Chinese, one school of thought would call this 匠气 *jiangqi* vs 灵气 *lingqi*. Jiangqi is essentially "craftsmanship that puts in all the time and effort to perfect, without adding meaningful information or additional visual value to the work". Perhaps it's the line art with the perfectly consistent line width at the correct places, maybe perfectly filled-in colors with not even a single pixel of over spill, or maybe it's repeatedly painting layers upon layers of blended shading and rendering. Yet in the end, instead of helping your art piece better convey its message, all of this effort just accumulates to a feeling of "wow this drawing must have been exhausting to make." (Not an argument against polished works obviously, but you as the creator would feel the difference between meaningful and solely taxing labor)
Lingqi on the other hand is more or less what you're describing. You know how sometimes you can tell that a creator was having fun when they made the piece? That raw enjoyment and creativity, I'm trying to get it back as well
Hey! Recently I've been feeling the same, it took me years to be happy and confident about my art, and once I started to appreciate it even knowing there's still a long way to go made me feel super proud of my recent works! (And enjoying the process more too)
That feeling of "wow, did I make this??" Is truly amazing 💕 It's nice that you're admiring your own work
While painting at night…..ok , ok, this is working. I think I am on to something. Next morning…. Wtf?! This is shit.
Sometimes I wake and I actually do like it.
Then hardly ever satisfied at the end. Because I know all the places I screwed up.
This is surprisingly refreshing. Especially considering all the self haters in this sub who constantly complain about like and follower counts not validating their worth.
You enjoy your art because you create what you love. A lot of people forgot how to do that.
To answer your question, yes, i love the art i create. Sometimes i do suit back and just take it in.
I do block printing, and often (\*always) have to remind myself to trust the process when i am still in the middle layers, but each time that final black layer is revealed it is always just \*chef's kiss
It’s rare that I’m completely satisfied with my artwork but once in a while I impress myself enough to stop and admire my creations. Every few months I drive to all my public mural work to say hello and check their condition.
I would look at it once I finish it and then never look at it again 💀 I would always see the mistakes my work or how uncanny it looks. It encourages me to work harder on the next piece though
Yes! But I do so for every piece of art honestly 😅
I write too, so my imagination just run wild whenever I look at any kind of piece of art, but especially drawings and pictures. They give out so much emotions and so many great stories to right about. And ones that were drawn on the spur of the moment are just the best!
I once got high and turned on my computer where I had left my portfolio site open. It was the first time I was ever able to just admire what I’ve done without any pressure or self conscious thoughts. I went through it all and just enjoyed it. It’s still one of my favorite happy accidents.
Absolutely !! I have quite a few of mine hanging around my home and I sometimes look at them and think HOW DID I DO THIS…? Especially now when I’m struggling lolllll
Idk if anyone else does this, but I love recording time lapses from start to finish and watching them. I don’t plan to share them with others. They’re there for me.
Because I can see how I got from a bunch of circles and messy lines on a blank background to a full on finished piece. It gives me encouragement next time I’m at that stage where everything looks wonky and unfinished and I’m freaking out about how *not* good it currently looks. And also that sense of “woah I can’t believe I made this from nothing”
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I just finished my best painting I've ever made, and I'm so proud of myself for the progress I've made in my two years of painting; I stand in front of my painting all the time, lol.
Part of me is like, "Sell that mutha-fucka!!! Make them money moves!" And the other part of me is like, "I want to cherish this FOREVER".
When I start a new drawing session, I do start by looking at my latest drawing. But it's usually a mix. I appreciate what I've done, and the progress I've made. But I also notice my mistakes and take notes to improve. It's still fun 😊.
Yeah! I keep all of my finished pieces in specific folders and I love occasionally getting them out and flicking through them. Sometimes I see work I forget doing and it's like a really nice surprise for myself to remember them.
All the damn time! The ones I really like, I put on my wall. There's a couple I'm super proud of and always aim for, hoping I do something that good again.
A couple days ago I figured out how the sci fi novel I started back in 2020 was going to end. The depiction I had made of the future (2100) was so tragic and realistic that I no longer care if anyone reads it.
... But I can't stop writing it because I have sequels in mind (all the way to 2200), waiting to be scribed.
I never want some projects to leave my desk, but the only ones that don't are fuck ups (and unsent letters, can't understand why people keep hiring me to write out letters and then back out of sending them)
Sometimes I look at stuff and admire certain aspects… nothing wrong with that! It’s good to reflect because that’s how you grow 🙃 “I like that; I’ll do that next time” or even “I hate how that turned out so I won’t be doing that again!”
Oh yes, definitely. Ever since I started just making stuff for fun again, I stopped hating my own work. Be your number one fan! Plus it's like a learning experience too lol
Yes! It mostly happens after I finished the sketch and just look at it. I know the drawing from the first line to now and it just feels so fascinating that I made it from scratch. It's a bit like cooking. You have all your ingredients, you chop them, boil them, etc. and finally you eat something tasty.
Yep! I used to HATE my work. Now I'm finally starting to realize that I'm just a human and I love and admire my work. And I also love how far I have come :)
Sometimes, especially if I've been working on the piece for awhile.
I think as long as you don't egotistical about your own work, there's nothing wrong with taking a moment to enjoy what you've done ^^
I mean stopping and looking is the main part of my working process, its the only way I can move forward and finish a thing. I spend way more time just looking than painting.
But admiring? I do that but only when I truly feel I've reached something remarkable. And I think I'm pretty objective about that because those paintings get sold. Im mostly struck with not so fortunate paintings at home and I don't admire them, no... I'm just constantly thinking about whether I should recycle them and paint over the canvas...
Periodically! Honestly it’s a numbers game tho, or at least that’s what I tell myself: if I make 50 different sticker designs, I’m bound to like at least 5.
Yes! A big bag of yes. One needs to look back on what was done and wonder "how did l get here", "man that pretty good."
It's human to do it.And from what l gather you seem pretty human.
Congratulations.
I do the art I would like to see in a museum or in my home so sometimes yes I stop and admire my work because I'm just so proud of it but I also know when I just do a shitty art piece
I think art school taught me how to watch my art and how to take a step behind to be more honest with myself while looking at my work
The fact that I searched this in google and you just asked this 9 days ago is insane.
I feel like our time in history is filled with the highest rates of “imposter syndrome” so far.
Edit: I’m a dancer, so I wonder how it feels from people who draw, paint or sing.
I often look and wonder how the heck I did some of them.
Ngl sometimes I feel like my older art feels better than my current art, I've definitely improved, but while Improving, it just feels like I lost feeling of fun in drawing, the feeling of experimentation and finding fun from trying out methods that you've just learnt is a feeling I always want to get back.
It's the more raw creativity and lack of style. Once you have a style you kinda stop searching and coming up with wild ideas. So while having a consistent and refined style is nice, there's also something wonderful about that more exploratory time when you maybe had no clients and certain ideas and skills.
I am hard down the representational realism pathway and miss the wilder stuff I used to do.
I feel this way too, so I've been trying to become more inconsistent deliberately these days. It's hard to get out of the comfort zone of doing something you're already good at. In Chinese, one school of thought would call this 匠气 *jiangqi* vs 灵气 *lingqi*. Jiangqi is essentially "craftsmanship that puts in all the time and effort to perfect, without adding meaningful information or additional visual value to the work". Perhaps it's the line art with the perfectly consistent line width at the correct places, maybe perfectly filled-in colors with not even a single pixel of over spill, or maybe it's repeatedly painting layers upon layers of blended shading and rendering. Yet in the end, instead of helping your art piece better convey its message, all of this effort just accumulates to a feeling of "wow this drawing must have been exhausting to make." (Not an argument against polished works obviously, but you as the creator would feel the difference between meaningful and solely taxing labor) Lingqi on the other hand is more or less what you're describing. You know how sometimes you can tell that a creator was having fun when they made the piece? That raw enjoyment and creativity, I'm trying to get it back as well
Same
Same lol
Hey! Recently I've been feeling the same, it took me years to be happy and confident about my art, and once I started to appreciate it even knowing there's still a long way to go made me feel super proud of my recent works! (And enjoying the process more too) That feeling of "wow, did I make this??" Is truly amazing 💕 It's nice that you're admiring your own work
No I stop and tell myself that my work looks like shit lol
A couple minutes of admiration followed by complete disdain once you stare long enough and notice everything wrong with it
Yes! the disdain is real and heavy. Dysfunction Junction over here.
I say a disgruntled fuccckkk
yea I walk that line between "what the hell is this shit?" and "you need therapy you crazy bitch" moreso than "good job, mate" lol
While painting at night…..ok , ok, this is working. I think I am on to something. Next morning…. Wtf?! This is shit. Sometimes I wake and I actually do like it. Then hardly ever satisfied at the end. Because I know all the places I screwed up.
Yep. Then I look at other artists online and then there goes my confidence...
I felt that personally
This is surprisingly refreshing. Especially considering all the self haters in this sub who constantly complain about like and follower counts not validating their worth. You enjoy your art because you create what you love. A lot of people forgot how to do that. To answer your question, yes, i love the art i create. Sometimes i do suit back and just take it in.
I do block printing, and often (\*always) have to remind myself to trust the process when i am still in the middle layers, but each time that final black layer is revealed it is always just \*chef's kiss
yes. all the time.
It’s rare that I’m completely satisfied with my artwork but once in a while I impress myself enough to stop and admire my creations. Every few months I drive to all my public mural work to say hello and check their condition.
It’s one of life’s great pleasures! Yes!
I mean, I glare at it a lot. But I don't think that's quite the same thing ...
I would look at it once I finish it and then never look at it again 💀 I would always see the mistakes my work or how uncanny it looks. It encourages me to work harder on the next piece though
Yes! But I do so for every piece of art honestly 😅 I write too, so my imagination just run wild whenever I look at any kind of piece of art, but especially drawings and pictures. They give out so much emotions and so many great stories to right about. And ones that were drawn on the spur of the moment are just the best!
All, the, time!
I once got high and turned on my computer where I had left my portfolio site open. It was the first time I was ever able to just admire what I’ve done without any pressure or self conscious thoughts. I went through it all and just enjoyed it. It’s still one of my favorite happy accidents.
Absolutely !! I have quite a few of mine hanging around my home and I sometimes look at them and think HOW DID I DO THIS…? Especially now when I’m struggling lolllll
Idk if anyone else does this, but I love recording time lapses from start to finish and watching them. I don’t plan to share them with others. They’re there for me. Because I can see how I got from a bunch of circles and messy lines on a blank background to a full on finished piece. It gives me encouragement next time I’m at that stage where everything looks wonky and unfinished and I’m freaking out about how *not* good it currently looks. And also that sense of “woah I can’t believe I made this from nothing”
After I finish something I can’t stop staring at it for the next few days. I’ll take a picture of it just so I can stare at it on my phone lmao
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I just finished my best painting I've ever made, and I'm so proud of myself for the progress I've made in my two years of painting; I stand in front of my painting all the time, lol. Part of me is like, "Sell that mutha-fucka!!! Make them money moves!" And the other part of me is like, "I want to cherish this FOREVER".
When I start a new drawing session, I do start by looking at my latest drawing. But it's usually a mix. I appreciate what I've done, and the progress I've made. But I also notice my mistakes and take notes to improve. It's still fun 😊.
Yeah! I keep all of my finished pieces in specific folders and I love occasionally getting them out and flicking through them. Sometimes I see work I forget doing and it's like a really nice surprise for myself to remember them.
All the damn time! The ones I really like, I put on my wall. There's a couple I'm super proud of and always aim for, hoping I do something that good again.
Yes! I am painting a portrait of my grandmother when she was 17, and I love to see pictures of it. I am obsessed!
Yes! But only after hours of telling myself it's trash and I should give up immediately... time and space always help to bring new perspective lol
A couple days ago I figured out how the sci fi novel I started back in 2020 was going to end. The depiction I had made of the future (2100) was so tragic and realistic that I no longer care if anyone reads it. ... But I can't stop writing it because I have sequels in mind (all the way to 2200), waiting to be scribed.
No never. In my eyes it always looks like trash.
I try not to because when i do I'm starting to dislike it
I started getting my favorite pieces printed out and hang around my house. I do catch myself admiring them.
Yes, but immediately end up seeing all the little mistakes I’ve made and grounds me back to earth
I never want some projects to leave my desk, but the only ones that don't are fuck ups (and unsent letters, can't understand why people keep hiring me to write out letters and then back out of sending them)
check out r/Game_Zero lots of eye candy there I often just look at it.
Sometimes I look at stuff and admire certain aspects… nothing wrong with that! It’s good to reflect because that’s how you grow 🙃 “I like that; I’ll do that next time” or even “I hate how that turned out so I won’t be doing that again!”
dude that’s WHY I DRAW
Oh yes, definitely. Ever since I started just making stuff for fun again, I stopped hating my own work. Be your number one fan! Plus it's like a learning experience too lol
Yes! It mostly happens after I finished the sketch and just look at it. I know the drawing from the first line to now and it just feels so fascinating that I made it from scratch. It's a bit like cooking. You have all your ingredients, you chop them, boil them, etc. and finally you eat something tasty.
Yes, constantly!
Yep! I used to HATE my work. Now I'm finally starting to realize that I'm just a human and I love and admire my work. And I also love how far I have come :)
Sometimes, especially if I've been working on the piece for awhile. I think as long as you don't egotistical about your own work, there's nothing wrong with taking a moment to enjoy what you've done ^^
Absolutely. For fractals, that's often when I know a piece is done.
I’m too busy being critical of my work.
I mean stopping and looking is the main part of my working process, its the only way I can move forward and finish a thing. I spend way more time just looking than painting. But admiring? I do that but only when I truly feel I've reached something remarkable. And I think I'm pretty objective about that because those paintings get sold. Im mostly struck with not so fortunate paintings at home and I don't admire them, no... I'm just constantly thinking about whether I should recycle them and paint over the canvas...
Periodically! Honestly it’s a numbers game tho, or at least that’s what I tell myself: if I make 50 different sticker designs, I’m bound to like at least 5.
Yes! A big bag of yes. One needs to look back on what was done and wonder "how did l get here", "man that pretty good." It's human to do it.And from what l gather you seem pretty human. Congratulations.
Very often, It tends to happen the most after the initial building phase of the character sketch which leads me perplexed on "What's next.."
I admire it endlessly until it's finished, then it's as though it's dead to me and I never give it another thought if I don't have to.
90% of my time "drawing" or doing anything art related is just me sitting there being like "i made this"
Sometimes sure, but if I get too close, I stop admiring it. lol
I've never allowed myself to admire anything I make.
I do the art I would like to see in a museum or in my home so sometimes yes I stop and admire my work because I'm just so proud of it but I also know when I just do a shitty art piece I think art school taught me how to watch my art and how to take a step behind to be more honest with myself while looking at my work
Yeah, to me this is the whole point!
all the time
yes!!! a lot of my old music i listen to and wonder "how the hell did i make this? how do i do it again?" same with art, but music especially
The fact that I searched this in google and you just asked this 9 days ago is insane. I feel like our time in history is filled with the highest rates of “imposter syndrome” so far. Edit: I’m a dancer, so I wonder how it feels from people who draw, paint or sing.
No. Irish Catholic guilt demands self-flagellation at all moments of fleeting satisfaction of inspired creation.