Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Why I Should Give Up (Even Though I Won't)

When I feel the searing pain in my wrist that accompanies almost every stroke and I think about the pointless hours I've spent hunched over any scrap of paper I could find, and later hunched over my graphics tablet, and how nothing worthwhile has ever come of those efforts it occurs to me that it's probably about time that I just call it quits with the whole drawing thing.
Then I see stuff like this and I become certain that I should.
I'm not saying that I'm going to quit drawing - after so many years it's become the one habit that I probably can't break - but I've become increasingly aware of the fact that it's just never going to pay off for me. I'm never going to have that sudden epiphany in which it all comes together and I take my talent to that level that I've always tried - however half-assedly - to attain.
The fact of the matter is that I'm just not going to get any more talented, skilled, or disciplined than I already am, and my best work is not yet to come but has probably already been achieved.
*Sigh*
Anyway, the point of this mopefest is that I think the pictures at the site linked above are real purty.
And don't worry; I'm sure that you'll continue to see my usual, comparatively cave drawing-like efforts popping up here from time to time, especially if the chiropractor manages to help with my wrist.

2 comments:

Merlin T Wizard said...

You don't suck. You're much better than a lot of the art I've seen online. Yes, there are people better than you. So what? It'd be nice to be the best at what you do, but it's not practical. As for not having anything worthwhile come out of it, I disagree. I appreciate your art quite a bit. In fact, I think you should compose a gallery site like the one you linked so I can show it off to other people in the same way. If you really want to get serious, you ought to start submitting your stuff to comics publishers, fantasy and sci fi 'zines, and the like.

Oh, and Tom Bagshaw's art reminded me of some art I ran across last week. It's by a Polish artist named Marta Dahlig. Check out her Seven Deadly Sins work. I especially like Vanity for some reason.
Deviant Art (don't let the name fool you, it's not all that deviant.

Jon Maki said...

I appreciate your comments. When I wrote this post I was, obviously, in a bit of a funk. Sometimes when I see something done really well I can't help but think "Why should I even bother trying? What can I draw that someone hasn't already drawn better?" But those feelings come and go like the ebb and flow of the tides. Same thing happens with writing. Or even blogging.
In any case, my point is, thanks for the ego boost.
And I'm familiar with Deviant Art, thought not with that artist.
And FYI, I sent a link to the Scarlett picture to the artist who did the tutorial and she responded and referred to it as being "fantastic," so that was cool.
She was also grateful for me posting a link to her site. I didn't have the heart to let her know that it's not likely to generate much new traffic for her...