Been a while, hasn't it?

Yes, it sure has.

I've been overlooking my life these weeks, while being in London. I noticed I wanted to do graphic designing. I want a be an artist.

But the problem is, I cannot for the life of me, get the pencil and paper together. Am I scared? I'm not sure, but it's so weird. I always think about the great artists, and how I will never be like them, and then in turn, become less motivated to do it. Can I do it good? Will people like it?

It probably is because I'm so scared of people judging me, I feel like going into a box and never coming out.

Sorry for that rant, I have to let it out.

Anyway, how have you all been for the weekend? I hope you are all safe, and having fun.

Have a nice day.

-Uruga

I'd say I'm fairly good with the ol' pencil and paper and when people've asked me in the past what kept me going, honestly, I've given them a piece of advice which I'm sure most artists would like to kill me for. And that advice was to not think of the 'great artists', or indeed, any art at all. By all means draw inspiration from the art of others but if you aspire too much to become like one of these people then two things will happen for sure. One: you'll become like them, which causes a total lack of uniqueness and creativity and two: you'll always be disappointed. No matter how good they become at something, people automatically (usually) put themselves below others. If you want to be like someone, then no matter how good you get, you'll never believe you're like them and you'll end up disheartened. I'd say to just avoid it entirely.

inb4 dead

^ that's some pretty good advise there. Well done, Harry! I agree wholeheartedly.

And don't be shy. I hope you open up a gallery in A&D sometime soon, Urugamosu! I'm sure the encouraging words of some of fellow artists in your gallery would really help you gain a little confidence as well! :]

@Razor Leaf: Thank you so much for the advice, I have to try to avoid this stuff. Thank you so much. c:

@Derozio: Thank you so much, I might try soon enough. c:

Every humble artist, I think struggles with this. If you need a bit of guidance I recommend the book called Art and Fear. It is a pretty good read even if it doesn't help you overcome this, but may help you open your eyes to another perspective.

You have to remember, the great artists today didn't just pick up a pencil and paper and knew what to do right away. They studied like most of us- they practiced and drew all the time. If you have enough courage to admit that you may not be the best when starting out- then that is still a good base point. You have something to aspire to, and all you need to do now is push yourself to do it even if you're not in the mood. Artist block is a big excuse made by many people, and lots don't understand that it's because you hit a plateau, and you just have to keep working to overcome that block. So just pick it up and start working and even if you dont think you're improving, after a while you can look back and evaluate what did change and what you still want to work at.

The hardest part is taking the first few steps.. so good luck.

@Kura: Thank you for the advice. I just bought the book from amazon, it really sounds interesting. Thank you for showing this to me.