Artistic self-esteem.

This is a message to anyone who´re feeling bad about their "artistic self-esteem" or lost the motivation to keep going with art. But of course, anyone can read and interpret this! Feel free to leave a comment if you want to add something. You´re also free to share this!

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Be "happy" with your art? Well... Not saying that you should stay satisfied with all your art so you´ll never improve. It´s more about being confident with the one you are as an artist. The artist inside of you. ~

Feel good about your art just the same way as you should feel confident with being yourself as a person. Draw what you want the same way as no one should blame you for what clothes you are wearing. Speak out your meanings and express all your sentiments just the same way as you shouldn´t be shameful about putting on your favorite music in front of everyone. If you are a sensitive person (like me...) who tends to comprehend things harshly, you can always learn to be stronger and braver. Don´t give up, because you´ve never lost! Look forward, think about what opportunities you´ve got. Think about how far you´ve already come! Is it worth giving up?

We live in a society. Around us is always society. Right now you´re located in deviantArt, which is far from the only community about art. In a society, we WILL at some point compare ourselves to other people. We WANT to feel appreciated. But sometimes we compare ourselves with others so much that we are in danger of facing low self-esteem. We end up forgetting how much we really love to create art (or love ourselves!) and always worry about how bad it turns out instead (or how our appearance and body look like)!

Just be yourself. Draw what you want, write and photograph what you feel like! No one shall force you. : ) Only because a piece of artwork isn´t perfect, doesn´t mean it´s bad. What is the definition of "perfect" anyway? Does the society really has to decide that? Don´t be sad because you know someone viewed your art but didn´t favorite it. Not everyone likes to favorite everything they see on dA. Trust me. There´s lots of art I enjoy viewing but which I don´t favorite, to take an example! Only because someone gave you 2 out of 5 stars on a critique doesn´t mean that your art hasn´t got great values, nor does it mean that no one can appreciate your art when looking so strictly at it!

Here I´ve chosen to feature some pieces of "full" artwork. Some of them are more popular than others, but they´re all nice, don´t you think so? You might even find them impressing. It isn´t hard to admire artists who work to get final products looking like these!
    

It´s amazing to idolize artists! : D The artist will feel honored to be idolized and truly deserve it for the astonishing effort they´ve shown! But you gotta listen to me now! Don´t you dare to get so far that you feel like your own art is plain SHIT compared to everything else! Instead, take inspiration, observe everything around you, and go create something that makes you happy, something you enjoy! ~

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EDIT: I´ve got feedback regarding to these  featured pieces of artwork. Don´t be discouraged because of them. What I´m trying to say, is that you MUST NOT be AS GOOD as someone ELSE to be VALUABLE! You aren´t an unworthy person or artist because of your skill level. It has nothing to say! Do you of all sudden become an evil person or do you become a better person for the way you are drawing? Our world will always be a competition, in some way... But you don´t need to prioritize competing with other people over enjoying what you are loving! If you want to set goals, then go for it, but remember that what you love is what that counts the most.

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You have got time to evolve your own style. You can think logically about how you can improve. Number of watchers doesn´t tell you about your artistic skills. Even when you lose some, you´ll always have the chance to earn new ones. Art ISN´T easy. Art is some of the most advanced you can ever get into. There are so many components and factors that play a role that we might not be able to list up everything. Examples are light sources, anatomy and perspective... there is so much!

Not everyone can like what you are creating. If your goal is to satisfy everyone, you´ll never make it. Don´t lose hope because of that! People are different. There WILL be people who´ll appreciate your art, but there will ALSO be some that turn their heads away. (I´m 100% sure that someone doesn´t like this journal entry of mine as well! :3) There will be people who are interested in you as an artist and even appreciate and understand the human you are. Don´t be afraid that you´ll lose watchers on deviantArt (or be disliked in any society!) by what you choose to submit and show the world. YOU create what YOU want. No one has right to bring you down with saying what you should and should not draw. You do what you want, and the people who are interested in you and your work will follow you as they discover you. Don´t listen to the negative, nonconstructive others are saying. You can always ask for feedback from other people to get advice about what to work with to improve. If you were the only human in world, it would perhaps not be the most fun to do anything anyway, right? BUT. Fair critique is NOT even as rudeness. Screw those statements of people who tell you that your art and characters are ugly, plain, a "disliked stereotype" and unoriginal. You know better than them. Draw and write because you LOVE it, and stand for what you are proud of & vice versa. Don´t be afraid to be different. The world will only and always keep changing by the different and unique things, even by what that can be defined as "weird".

This is optional: If you observe a person sitting alone in the classroom who´s drawing, go and tell them something (honest) and nice about their art. If you spot a deviant here who seems to be a bit lonely with no comments on uploaded art, feel free to do something little and nice: Comment something if you´ve got a little minute. They´ll appreciate it. Seriously, you don´t ALWAYS have to look harshly at art and write lengthy critiques. ^^

Someone supports and appreciates you. It´s always worth to keep the courage at a high level. What YOU love is what that matters. Don´t forget that you can aim what you go for. Always keep creating!