mwah

One thing I learned about trying to get over my own insecurities when drawing, is that my own eyes are liars. They trick me into thinking that my mistakes are way more obvious than they are, and that they ruin a whole picture, and that if my drawings aren't perfect in every way then they aren't worth being shown. But then I see amazing works from other artists who think they aren't very good, and the imperfections I see (if any) don't come anywhere close to ruining the picture at all. I think of how sad I'd be if I didn't get to see that picture because the artist thought it wasn't good enough to show. Then I realize that I'm holding myself to an unfair standard compared to other artists. I would never tell another artist to withold or delete their work just because it isn't a 100% flawless masterpiece. Personally I think your work is amazing, whether it's a messy sketch for a joke or a fully coloured piece for a zine. It's funny, it looks great, and it's got so much personality. The fact that you were the one who made it is what makes it so good! I think you deserve to treat yourself and your art with a bit more kindness.

This is so, so achingly true and something that artists of all kinds need to be reminded of frequently, thank you. I love when it's put into perspective like this, because we really are just applying double standards unjustly towards ourselves relative to others and thinking it completely rational. hahah the shock of when a fellow artist thinks their art is terrible when all you see are masterpieces should be a wakeup call, but it never is :''^)

(oops sorry this got lomg so ill put it under here) 

and i'll do exactly this while wholeheartedly believing that art does not at all have to be """good""" by any standards (also that art doesnt have to be hard work to be worthwhile). the point is to create, after that it's about what you want to get from it. this reminds me of a few years ago when my housemate and i were talking about how their art is so clean and professional (of course they disagreed) and how they're always actively trying to improve, whereas i improve very slowly because i have little motivation to follow tutorials or learn how to colour, shade, highlight etc correctly. and then they just hit me with "it's because your priority isn't how good or professional your art looks, but more so the emotion or tone it conveys" and it was so on the mark that it stuck with me ever since. It's incredibly helpful to know what you want from your own art, and in turn, where your frustration/perfectionism is stemming from.

but in the face of those frustrations, like you said, kindness is key. give yourself a break from your brain, create art you think is bad, it's fine. why wouldn't it be fine? what do i think is going to happen? my inability to draw eyebrows that don't look like 2 slugs about to kiss will be weighed against my soul on judgement day and i will be cast to hell? (cut to judgement day and this is exactly what happens).

and because art is such a personal thing, everyone has their own unique flavour and other people are so much more likely to recognise that uniqueness than we do ourselves (no chance of sneaking off to draw embarrassingly indulgent fanart on the downlow, someone will always know its you '':^v *whispers* do it anyway, do it unabashedly). and like you said, the thought of missing out on seeing that because an artist deemed their work unworthy to share out of insecurity, is heart breaking.

thank you for these words of encouragement, you've really helped me and likely others refresh that stale, self-critical part of our minds, and i hope you’re able to internalise these kind reminders for yourself too <3 (i'm so sorry for this messy response, i originally typed out a whole essay and lost it all when the page reloaded... although the original was probably just as messy :'''V)