is it worth it?/having a meltdown

[Aragah]

so idk what going on, i think im having a melt down, ive been drained and with no energy these days.

but my point is. is art worth it?

-pros
its way fucking better than having a "office" job
its entertaining

-cons
there are so many artists, what diference can i make?
the sacrifice of learning

i mean, i think i can get to an artist level, but i also dont feel like im gonna be on the "top" talented artist you know?

i have the felling that if i give up ill regret it tons in the future. but i also want to go out and drink everyday, worry about sillly stuff and do the "normal" teenager things.

not to mention how alone i feel, no one around me likes art. ive met a few people over the internet, but its not the same thing.
i would just really fucking love to go to a coffe place with a friend and just sketch, talk about mullins and bobby chiu.

maybe i should take a break?
idk today i feel like resting for a week.
but at the same time, if i realy want to learn art, its a lost of time.

i mean, i see janas and hannes sketchbook, and it just seems so awesome how they did stuff together shared and learned with each other.
not to say how much of a BEAST jana is, looking trough her stuff today its super inspirational, but at the same time i feel like im not creative and talented enough to ever do that

nah, f me, im lost

opinions on this rant?!?

[Slothboy3000]

No one said relaxing/ having fun with friends wasn't allowed.

P.S Your sketchbook is good. Quit beating yourself up.

[Aragah]

well, for some time i tried dedication to art and social life both at once, it worked for a month or so, after that social life overtook drawing and i stopped it for about 3-4months.
i dont think im very good with managing both.
but maybe a social circle were people were artists would work, but again, i dont know much people who do art

[Noah Bradley]

Planning on going to art school? Because for all the bashing some people do of it, it can be good at giving you a circle of friends who also do art (if sometimes poorly). You also said you were a teenager... that is to say, you have time. Don't go drinking every night (save your liver), but once or twice a week is reasonable.

Balance, balance, balance.

[Aragah]

oh, hi noah, its one of the reasons the internet and this place is awesome. im a fan of your work man!

yeah i am planning to go, i think thats one of the main reasons.
but on the teenager thing i dont think so, i mean, awesome artist were already kicking ass at my age! i mean, if i want to do it i want to be good at it, there isnt too soon to be good.
yeah balance is complicated.
its that when im home i avoid texting and such so i can focus on drawing, but then i dont know when people are going out to places.

[TinyBird]

-pros
its way fucking better than having a "office" job

Well, or not. Because there are art jobs that you do in an office, and have most of your average "office job" things (meetings, schedules, pointy haired bosses). So depending on where and what you plan on working, you may end up in an office yet.

But I'd also ask, is it worth what? If you feel that doing art is not worth it if you can't be The Top Artist in the world then yeah...
I mean, if you don't like doing art, you can always quit and just go have fun.

[Aragah]

yes i understand that drawing and painting can become a job that you do in the office, but my point is that i enjoy drawing. drawing is better than writing or doing math or stuff like that, so its more fun than beeing an engineer for example

i like that thinking. if i feel lke it i could just give up and go have fun. but maybe fun at you 30s is not as fun as at 18? idk

[TinyBird]

so its more fun than beeing an engineer for example

Unless you actually want to be an engineer. Just saying. I'm pretty sure there are engineers that think being an artist would not be fun at all.

Anyway, my advice would be to do what you want and stop worrying you'll never be the top artist or revolutionize the art world or that there are more skilled kids there than you. If you want to do art, do it. If you feel you can easily live without doing art and don't like to do art, then don't.

[AckermannPhilip]

I don not have friends anymore. My relatives are laughing at me. I have a office job with non stop negative people. And I tell you that you are probably stronger than me and have way more potential than I, if you choose to do so. It is all about decisions not given talent. Forget that word. Decision, focus and hard work produce genius. Not talent and luck.

And never think that you should not do something because so many are already good at it. If you need to do it because you love it, you do it anyways. But if such a thought enters your mind, chase him away. Because you can go anywhere you want if you decide and act upon it. Who told you that you cannot be far better than your idols? Who? Is that written in the sky? A law of nature? No, it is just not true. There is no evidence.

Stay strong and grow with this big challenge, which will make you far stronger when you fail or overcome it than giving up. Keep that in mind. You can use challenges, failures and enemies to grow. What a gift. And never forget that you have a whole community that helps you to become the best you can, if you accept and use that help.

[Aragah]

TinyBird - well yes, i was talking from my advantage point, artist is more fun than being an engineer. yes thats a very valid point, just do it because i like. but sometimes,(like right now) that doesnt seem to cover everything, doesnt seem to be enough.

AckermannPhilip
- yes man, i see all of your points, they seem very clear to me a week or two ago, its just that now it doesnt. hard work is what makes people good, but maybe not everyone can be good? i mean, i think everyone can make it, but to be really good is a diferent thing. idk.
what ive seen in artist is that even tho they get really better and change their style, its never too much, and they tend to keep drawing similar things in similar ways trough out their improvement.
the point is,
i got no fucking clue what i draw or how i draw.
i feel like, in a day that i saw like bobby chius stuff i draw in a way and certain subjects, but when i look at pascenkos stuff i draw in another way, and other subjects!
everything seems to pass too quickly, styles, subjects, focus, studies.
i still see what you mean(i think)
thanks a lot man

[OmenSpirits]

Quit.

I`m not the rah-rah do it because you like it type. Measure the amount of times you “meltdown” and you don`t and if the prior outweights the later, work towards something you won`t stress. And don`t give me that 'but' BS, be resolute or Effin' quit.

[Aragah]

hahaha wow man, thanks a ton.
its quite scary to think that way.
im not quitting. not yet. there is still tons and tons of stuff that i rather not do then draw
idk, what ever you said, it helped, even more than discussing it

[AckermannPhilip]

I have seen a 16 year old kid lifting a 260 kg deadlift and heard him doubting
his skills and mission in powerlifting and strongmen, while having tons of meltdowns. Now he is on the top, because he learned how to think. Another guy was never too tired to train and always told everyone how good he would be one day. He was also 16years old and equally strong. He quit because of outer influence.

Never tell a kid to quit. Even if you just want to drop a cool and rough line.

[Aragah]

i think part of succeding is overcoming outer influences right?

i mean, i think people are always gonna tell you to stop. people who got "there"/succeded where the ones who said no to quitting and no to people who said they couldnt make it.
i rather have someone telling me to quit it than someone who lies to me sayin "no, your gonna get better one day, one day you will have no more doubts"

i really wish i could have someone to make a harsh critc on my stuff

[Diarum]

Quit.

I`m not the rah-rah do it because you like it type. Measure the amount of times you “meltdown” and you don`t and if the prior outweights the later, work towards some you won`t stress. And don`t give me that 'but' BS, be resolute or Effin' quit.

My name is Barrack Obama, and I support this message.

[Aragah]

idk if what you guys are saying is like this, but thats what i feel like right now

[JeffX99]

Don't worry about that kind of stuff man. Whether you're going to be "the top"...just do it because you love it, if that is the case. Most of us aren't Michelangelo...but art didn't stop with him, it has kept on keeping on...because it is about your own personal expression. And try not to compare yourself with others, peers, etc. It is great to look at the pros, and shoot for that level, but don't worry about it...or stress over being on top.

[dennis.k]

Pain is temporary. It may last for a hour, a day or even a year but it will last forever if you quit.

take care.

[Conniekat8]

so idk what going on, i think im having a melt down, ive been drained and with no energy these days.

but my point is. is art worth it?

-pros
its way fucking better than having a "office" job
its entertaining

-cons
there are so many artists, what diference can i make?
the sacrifice of learning

Whatever career path you choose, there's going to be a lot of learning.. and also it never stops. The sooner you accept and learn to enjoy the process of learning, the more pleasing your life will be.

i mean, i think i can get to an artist level, but i also dont feel like im gonna be on the "top" talented artist you know?

You won't know till you put all the work necessary to get there. If you quit now, it's a goivem you;ll never be top. You always have a chance... till you quit.

i have the felling that if i give up ill regret it tons in the future. but i also want to go out and drink everyday, worry about sillly stuff and do the "normal" teenager things.
not to mention how alone i feel, no one around me likes art. ive met a few people over the internet, but its not the same thing.
i would just really fucking love to go to a coffe place with a friend and just sketch, talk about mullins and bobby chiu.

Yea, till you find a group of like-minded people you can enjoy, it can be lonely.. and it can be lonely even then. The good news it, we adjust.

maybe i should take a break?
idk today i feel like resting for a week.
but at the same time, if i realy want to learn art, its a lost of time.

i mean, i see janas and hannes sketchbook, and it just seems so awesome how they did stuff together shared and learned with each other.
not to say how much of a BEAST jana is, looking trough her stuff today its super inspirational, but at the same time i feel like im not creative and talented enough to ever do that

I think you're experiencing a bit of normal growing pains with a little bit of burnout. It can certainly feel very unpleasant, however, the thing to learn is to not make serious decisions when you feel crummy.

Also... lot of the great guys... they also had to start learning from the beginning. Come of them just got an earlier start then others. Lot of really good people, we don't get to see their early works, we only got to know their stuff after they became really good. The thousands of hours that went into getting to that level are seldom talked about... Outsiders and noobs many times end up feeling like they pulled it out of their hat.

Sorry you are feeling bad, and it's a royal PITA while it's happening, but it does pass and things get better again.

[Conniekat8]

i think part of succeding is overcoming outer influences right?

i mean, i think people are always gonna tell you to stop. people who got "there"/succeded where the ones who said no to quitting and no to people who said they couldnt make it.
i rather have someone telling me to quit it than someone who lies to me sayin "no, your gonna get better one day, one day you will have no more doubts"

i really wish i could have someone to make a harsh critc on my stuff

Person who knows the best whether you'll make it or not is YOU!

Why... because YOU are the one who has most control over it.
If you make up your mind, put your foot down and determine that you WILL make it... you will.

You know why? Because when you're determined, you'll find a way to do it. You may not know the exact way right now, but the determination to get there will make you keep your eyes open, and you won't miss the opportunities that come along the way.

Believe in yourself... at some point, you'll start believing it.

[OmenSpirits]

I have seen a 16 year old kid lifting a 260 kg deadlift and heard him doubting
his skills and mission in powerlifting and strongmen, while having tons of meltdowns. Now he is on the top, because he learned how to think. Another guy was never too tired to train and always told everyone how good he would be one day. He was also 16years old and equally strong. He quit because of outer influence.

Never tell a kid to quit. Even if you just want to drop a cool and rough line.

I don't do cool & rough. I do sledge hammer to one`s forehead. If one cannot survive the impact, well, sweet words hurt more in the long run. Better the blunt truth than a soft lie.

Which way would better prepare you for the realities of life?

[Aragah]

JeffX99 - yeah mna, i see the point, i keep telling myself, do it because you like. but from time to time i have to campare myself, its inevitable

dennis.k - yes ! thats true, thats why im ont quiitiing today

Conniekat8 - thanks a lot man for answering all of this.
idk, as i said to others, i see what you say, most of that stuff i had already realized. but idk, i guess its just a down time were this stuff dont seem as strong.
i have a feeling that im getting down because i have nothing else to focus on, then it gets a little stressing. im gonna make a effort to go out more, but really control that and dont let social life overtake drawing.

OmenSpirits - "Which way would better prepare you for the realities of life?" thats what i feel like, not every body is gonna be nice to me, i need to learn to take hits.
its that funny theory that bullying is healthy to a certain point, it makes the kid learn do defend and stand up for himself.


thanks a lot guys, im felling better, and i dont even know why. idk, i still dont put to much trust in my "creativity", but drawing is still really fun

all those questions are still in my head, but i guess now i want to draw and think about them later

[Chris Bennett]

Here's something I wrote that should help you.
The thread I started it on was written for people in exactly your situation.
Here's the link to the thread itself:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=225194

And here's the post I made to it kick off and the thread itself:



ART - What you're getting into.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seeing that a lot of questions are from youngsters about career paths in the arts I thought it might be helpful to have a thread that dealt with the issues all under one roof.

"Should I choose a career in the arts?"

Many will have answers to this. I'll kick off this thread with mine:

The best way to answer it is for me to give a quick potted history of the state of the 'art world' both 'commercial' and 'personal'.

The great days of illustration are over, the days when magazines competed for artists to produce work for their covers, publishers for book illustration, strips for newspapers...all has dwindled to a fraction of what it was even in the 1980s - and that was a fraction of what it was in the 1930s to 1960s.
Nearly all the artists of today who would have been gainfully employed in those years are now clinging to one life raft.......Fantasy Art. It's a big raft, since it is blown and maintained by the abundant economic winds of the games industry, but it is a very, very overcrowded one as you can imagine.

Also the gallery system is not what it was during the great days of the Paris Salons and is only a husk of what it used to be in the early part of the 20th century. This is because of the emergence of the new information delivery system; namely the modern media explosion and the internet. The 'superstar' artists of today are therefore no longer plastic artists (painters and sculptors) but media savvy essayists with the conceptual objects they produce being judged and accordingly valued by how successful they are at provocation and the celebrity it generates....tailor-made for media reportage and dissemination.
Hence the plastic arts practiced by the 'gallery painters' exist under the main commercial media radar whilst still maintaining the high artistic concerns (among the serious and dedicated) that the practitioners always had from Giotto to Rembrandt to Picasso. The difference is that the 'high priests' of society no longer sanction or patronise it on anything like the scale they did in the past and the artist is left to find buyers in the bazaars of the connoisseurs; the 'gallery system'.

You need to know this. Very few will tell you this either because they are clueless or do not possess the wit to realise it, are deluded or lie about it.
You need to know this because the pursuit of art as a 'profession' or 'life calling' is unmercifully hard due to attitudes towards the plastic arts in our current global culture and its impact on those practicing it within the context of that culture.

And there's the thing. It is a sense of context within society that will hit hardest on the individual, more so than difficulty earning money even.....To forego the sense of belonging, being valued, being needed by the society you live in for the sake of pursuing something means you have to love it....love it even more than yourself. Because your heart will be broken many times.

So, here you are, a young man or woman of 18 standing before all this and thinking "How the fuck am I going to know if I want to commit myself to a lifetime of that?" Some days you think: "Yay, I don't care, I love doing this stuff, its wonderful, I don't care, bring it on I'm up for it, the artist's life of beauty and dedication and passion and magic....yippie!!"
Other days you think: "Boy, that friend of mine who's just got himself a job in the bank, saving up with his girlfriend to get their first little place...all set to enjoy the little things of life, delight in a new dress, friends round, a dog, picnics with the kids and growing old together...it ain't so bad, that's what Norman Rockwell painted and what he obviously loved."

So this is the question you must ask yourself, not lightly or as an amusing diversion, but acutely aware that 'this is my god damned life I'm talking about!'
It can be put like this:
Your chances of living the life that Norman Rockwell painted are far higher than becoming Norman Rockwell. So what kind of person are you deep, deep down? How important is security, a sense of place in society, a sense of context, a sense of belonging, really, honestly, deep, deep down? Because if you know this you will have some idea which to choose, which way to place your bet. It will even help you with how to spread that bet if you are so inclined.

Only you will know the answer to this and it may take a little while to find it. I can only lay before you the facts as I see them from my experience.

You are probably someone with great sensitivity to the subtleties of life, far more than is average. This is rare and it is what is awakening the artist within you. But sensitivity to the subtleties, the beauty of life has to be seen along with other character traits. You must see yourself as a whole human being, not just as the artist bit. Because it is the whole human being that walks through life, not just the artist.

You have asked me for diamonds and I seem to have only given you a broken bit of mirror. But the answers it holds will be far more valuable to you than anything else I could ever give you.

Good luck my friends. Whichever road you take.

[Conniekat8]

Conniekat8 - thanks a lot man for answering all of this.
idk, as i said to others, i see what you say, most of that stuff i had already realized. but idk, i guess its just a down time were this stuff dont seem as strong.
i have a feeling that im getting down because i have nothing else to focus on, then it gets a little stressing. im gonna make a effort to go out more, but really control that and dont let social life overtake drawing.

It happens to all of us, even after we know it happens. Feelings just have to pass. After they pass, it feels like you took a really good dump.

It's sort of like... 'welcome to life', it goes back and forth, and sometimes it does back flips

[Aragah]

holy crap man, this was a good read.
yeah ive always imagined the art journey would not be "sweet"
and its something that bugs me is the though of how overcrowded it is.
but what struck me was the 2 and 3post in that thread. i mean, ive always had the conciousness that i should not give up my dreams for others(sounds selfish)

"Ben Franklin said those that would trade freedom for security deserve neither. I would say that those that would trade their dreams for normalcy deserve neither."

but (at the moment at least) i think that tho enjoyable a "stable" life it is not fulfilling.
it would be fulfilling to have a family and support them, but that is independent of what job i have.

and a last though is that if i get fucked up in the art world, i can simply give up and go like study engineering.

[alltheshimmer]

I always come to the same conclusion. I go through waves of "what-ifs" too, but you're right. IF you sever stop loving it you COULD just go off and study something else. If you are loving doing something, why stop just because you have some ups and downs.

I guess I just made my peace with the sacrifices. It's hard when family and friends just don't understand, but art has always done something for me that people can't so I just can't give it up.

[Aragah]

Conniekat8 - haha yeah man, good analogy, it does feel like i took a really good dump. its sort of anoying that it keeps coming back tho, and scary too, what if one of those destroys me?(sorry i didnt see your post, i think we typed at the same time)

alltheshimmer - yeah man, i have to learn to come to peace with my ups and downs. and true that, people dont usualy understand, but i mean, i think its the nature of art, its very personal, almost selfish and probably egocentrical

[Conniekat8]

Conniekat8 - haha yeah man, good analogy, it does feel like i took a really good dump. its sort of anoying that it keeps coming back tho, and scary too, what if one of those destroys me?(sorry i didnt see your post, i think we typed at the same time)

And if it goes beyond normal stuff, like any kind of depression or anxiety or whatnot, there's good medical treatment for that too.

[Vay]

What's a friend?

[Aragah]

Conniekat8 - f yeah man! lets do this!

Vay - ammmm im not sure in what way you meant that