Other art anxiety

[merrbles]

This is sort of just me rambling, but I'd also love input and thoughts (and maybe personal experiences?) on this topic!

So, I'm an artist who used to share their art on social media, in the very beginning just for fun, then with the hope to build a following and make some money off of it. I've given up on that a while ago because it killed my enjoyment of creating, and now I'd like to go back to posting just for fun because I used to enjoy sharing my art with people.
The thing is, I've developed a lot of insecurities about how inconsistent the art I make and want to make is, both in themes and style. There is so much I want to express and experiment with, and it's easy to say 'just go for it!' because that seems to be the natural conclusion, right?
But it makes me horribly anxious to think about people seeing this inconsistent mess that I am, to not have anything that might be identifiying as me or that people stick around for in my art.
Even with hobbyist artists on social media, I feel like I always see them having a 'thing', a vibe, an art style, certain subjects they come back to, maybe colour palettes or techniques they use.
And I could try for something like that of course, but it's just not in line with what I want to create.
I'm not worried about people liking or disliking my art, this is not what this is about. But it is also hard to put into words what exactly it is about.
I suppose the reason I want to share my art is that I hope it will have a positive impact - however small - on some people - however few. I'd like to create a space where I feel comfortable sharing my work and that people like to come back to because there is something they connect with or that comforts them. And I just feel like the extreme discrepancy between styles and themes I want to use - say, if one post is a dark, semi-realistic painterly horror illustration and the next one an airy watercolour piece in a manga/anime sort of style, then the next one a retro style cutesy pastel drawing (you know the ones) - is extremely off-putting to someone who came looking for just one of those things, and sends such mixed messages that even I might feel alienated in this space I created.
And that's the whole conundrum. Or is it a conundrum at all? Because in the end who cares, right? I should just do what I want to do. And yet... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Here we are.

Props to anyone who's made it this far. I'm pretty curious to know what people think and if maybe someone has similar feelings regarding their art (not necessarily just drawing, there are lots of ways to be creative that something like this might apply to, I think).

 

[GojiBean]

Hoyo!

As a newbie artist myself, I know the struggle.

But I have some advice for ya!

1) Don't worry about "you" (for now)

The concept of you having your own style or thing when it comes to art is something that will naturally develop over time. The more you do it, the more you think about the aspects you like most, the more you focus on bettering your skills, the more you will develop a sense for exactly how you want your human figures, non-human figures, items/objects, beasts, buildings, etc to look. And from this, your unique fingerprint as an artist will be born.

So, don't worry about it for now. It will happen on its own.

2) There's nothing wrong with inconsistency.

Part of the struggle of being an artist and learning and trying new things is that inconsistencies are going to arise in your output. The best thing is to learn to accept it. The more you experiment, the more things will change about your approach to your art no matter the subject.

Go ahead and let yourself be inconsistent, because this is an important part of the process of developing consistency. You need to experiment. You need to succeed and fail at different things. You need to see your art change style, presentation, and focus several times. All of it will eventually help mold your approach into something that's consistent and yields the output you want.

3) Your space is your space, so own it.

When you find where you want to share your art, whether it's here, instagram, deviantart, pinterest, or wherever, set your space and own it. You are free to post anything/everything you want and never accept any questions or flak about it. If you want to do a dark, gritty horror piece in painter style one day and then a soft watercolor style the next, do it.

Your space is your space. Own it.

It's there for you first before it's there for those who come to see what you've made. Those who understand that you are experimenting and still in the process of finding yourself in your artistic journey will support whatever you create. For everyone who doesn't and who's asking things like "Why'd you do something like THIS? The thing you did last week was so much better! Go back to that!"... Block those people from your space. Literally. Click their name, find the "block" button, and block them.

You don't need to settle for negativity or people questioning your creative choices and how you've chosen to progress from one piece of work to the next.

If they're not here to enjoy what you bring, they can bugger off.

4) Embrace your insecurity, and never settle for "good enough."

When it comes to anything art related, insecurity and perfectionism are the mother and father of progress.

When you're insecure, you want to improve to a point where you become secure. And when you are a perfectionist and don't settle for "good enough," you want to improve to the point where you feel there's no real need to question your choices.

These two things will work together to forge your style and your unique fingerprint as an artist. And, just like the process of finding your fingerprint, it takes time for these two things to balance out.

Insecurity will always trump perfectionism early on. And it's important to know this going into it so you can accept it. The more art you produce, the less insecure you will become and the more of a perfectionist you'll notice you're becoming instead. You'll worry less about what others think, or even what you think, and you'll be focusing more on whether or not the details are the way you want them and whether or not you can improve them further before calling a piece "done."

Just relax, and let these two forces find a balance point in their own time.

When they do, you'll notice the change.


That's about all I got!

Hopefully it was helpful!

- GojiBean

 

[crumbelivable]

Your struggles with "inconsistency" bring to mind a passage I recall reading in the Animators Survival Kit. When observing one of the veteran animators under his employ, Richard Williams, the author, noted that his artstyle would change day by day, jumping around various parts of his career. He'd be making 30s style rubber hose art one day, then another day more realistic Disney style human figures, then another day blobby shape based figures of the UPA artstyle. All great artists have more than one artstyle. It's nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, it's something to pride yourself on.

 

[lndigo]

I’m also in the midst of an art journey. I like drawing and doodling for fun so I tend to the more experimental side of things. Sometimes, I draw in an anime style. Sometimes, I draw in a more western cartoon/comic style. I think being able to create in any style you want is actually a great thing. It makes you versatile.

I personally love seeing artists who create different things - I think it makes it all the more memorable that they’re capable of producing more than one niche thing. Also, styles and aesthetics amongst artist change all the time. My friend, who is an art major and works as a designer, started off doing very realistic portraits of people. Now she does abstract, colourful, and funky looking characters. She says it’s more freeing. She still does hyperrealistic portraits from time to time, but she’s finally been comfortable with letting herself be. It’s all a part of growing and evolving.

Try not to judge yourself too harshly for what you create. I promise that your audience may be more open-minded than you think. If not, it’s alright. Personally, I think that external validation is just an added bonus - what’s more important is one’s self-expression. As long as it continues to make you happy, no matter the content or style, you should continue to pursue it!