You can do it deer. If one like me, who has a neurodivergent that causes problems can fight back and do better, you can do it too.

After all, I've seen you've improve rapidly and greatly

I'm trying deer, really am, sometimes it gets really discouraging though.

stay strong my Man. stay strong.

I'm trying...

I feel you.
It's for sure you've improved over time, sometimes we stand too close, and judge to critically to see how far we've come.
I think sortof the same, where if only I could learn new skills and get better I could do art more efficiently and people would like it, but time stops for no one and it's usualy used up before I sit to draw.
Sometimes you have to step back and do it for yourself. Take a break from art (if its a art block), seek inspiration or just draw for yourself... just drawing for yourself you'll still improve even if the world doesn't see it.
I am not one who is good with the way of words and I know not every persons struggles can be related to, I just hope you manage to overcome this.
*rolls away*

You get it! I really wish I could find a way to be more efficient and make more appealing creations, but the clock is always against this. I might have to kick myself off the comfort zone by drawing just for myself like you suggested, some intensive training of sorts I suppose. Thanks for your message, I appreciate it.

The last thing I'll leave you with is, if ever you want to talk about things, brain storm, talk about software, inspiration, passions or whatnot feel free to dm me.
I sincerely only wish to help and sometimes a different prospective can help us realize achievable goals in bite size proportions.

Everyone has this feeling from time to time. I've talked with other friends who are creative and there are some universal truths.
1.We are all our own worst critic. To get some perspective, get feedback on work from other artists.

2.Pretty much everyone feels like they should be at a different skill level. Again, it is mainly perspective. Since you see your work everyday, every second, it is hard to notice the incremental improvements. For perspective, compare stuff from today with stuff 1 year ago (or 2, or 3, or 5 years ago).
3.It's okay to take a break! I know it probably feels like you just had a break and are trying to get back in the flow. Sometimes a break takes longer than you think. Don't pursue one thing at the cost of another (art vs mental health). The art will be here when you're ready.

I truly enjoy your art and it gives me a smile when I see new pieces pop up. Keep on as best you can. *hugs*

I tried getting some feedback but it is generally too vague to be productive, I'm often left to figure out stuff on my own given formal art education is not something I can get right now, and I have the feeling an art school would not be pleased with furry stuff anyway.

The bar I set to myself is being competent enough so I could be "studio employable", and objectively speaking, I'm far from this. There are too many things I dont know, and even more things I don't know that I dont know. Sadly my mental health is strongly tied to my ability, to draw stuff, taking a long break would probably do more harm than good I'm afraid, because I would end up with the feeling of being a useless pile of fur =(

Bunny still loves you dear.

Bunners

*Coony hugs*

yo dude! been a while.
perhaps you have try something new in life in order to break through this blockade.
get to know new people, visit new places, or maybe even get a new job.
hope this helps a little.
cheers~

I look at a piece of your work like Voyage and I think you are way too hard on yourself.

Sometimes I think I'm actually not hard enough, if I had a bit more discipline, I probably could have done more by now, and possibly better too.

everything helps improving. even vent art like this... the contrast between the relatively clean room and a sketchy, uneasy portrait tells a lot.

anyway, as others said, we are our own worst critics. and in times it's hard to get a praise and not feel like it's undeserved... but you deserve it.

Being frustrated with slow improvement is normal and part of the learning process my friend, learning the gross skills comes relatively quickly, it's the little things and the finesse that take the most time to learn the skills.

You have come a long way in a short time so the finesse is going to take longer to get the hang of.

I think the biggest problem are the things I don't know that I don't know. Figuring out what these are will be quite the trip.

Yes it's the little things that take the most time to learn.

I believe I can relate, at least to a point. After my first book got published, I began reading my own copy of it and found numerous little oversights that I'm now working with my publisher to get fixed.
I believe the book will be better overall once these revisions get done, but it's all relatively minor stuff that ultimately doesn't *really* affect the story itself. Just a few typos and punctuation flukes here and there, and just what I feel are worthwhile rephrases or small elaborations to the text.
However, I've still thought to myself "How could I have let these slip?!? I thought I went over this really thoroughly! What was I thinking?!? I should've done better!"
JWDream said it pretty well, how we can "stand too close" to our own work to be able to see how far we've actually come. And as Kiyofox noted, we can be/are our own worst critics, and when you're constantly around your own stuff while comparing it to the work of others, it's easy to note what's not there and not appreciate what is there. It's good to try and "take notes" from others and try to develop a wider range for your work, but then it can become easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others and feeling inferior to them, or that you're not at a "good enough" level, OR possibly lose some of your uniqueness because you try to be too much like those you compare yourself to.
But you have your own "thing(s)" to offer in your work, and what may seem like a shortcoming in your eyes could very well be what makes your work special in the eyes of others.
This stuff is an unending journey, and every step you take in it is still a step.
In short, whatever you do next, take it a step at a time.

Hey you. Not long ago you picked me up when I was getting beaten down by the same enemy you're fighting now. I know I went radio silent afterwards, but it's because I learned I was too fixated on creating art to share instead of drawing to get better for myself. So I've been plugging away here in the background using a lot of your advice. You've helped me.

I don't know what kind of pressure you are under, but don't let it take away your amazing skill as an artist now. I'm dying to be a good as you. You're basically my favorite artist on FA because I can talk to you. I'm seeing you experiment and grow and push your boundaries. You are not stuck. But you are allowed to go easy on yourself. We can always do more, but someone smarter than me told me that if we actually accomplished what we think we should we would probably kill ourselves from the effort.

So, yeah. I'm not great at the pep talk thing so I'm going to shut up now.

I feel this one... *gives him a gentle hug...

V.

Thank you Vixyy

Most welcome…

Vix

I'm not sure how much I can say to the emotional bit, since I don't know your situation, but I'm sorry to hear you're feeling frustrated and I hope it passes soon <3

Your understanding of shadow here is incredible, and you've made a really interesting composition with it. The slant of the shadows brings my eye right down to where the character is hunched in the corner, and the light versus dark shapes are really interesting to look at.

I'm afraid the frustration is just something I'll have to deal with, it is not going away but I wont let it stop me.

Thanks for the nice words on the drawing itself, lately I'm trying to apply more perspective and light to the things I do, so far doing it with mostly flat colors for simplicity sake, but eventually will attempt to make it more painterly ^^;

This one is phenomenal! It was an inspired concept to make the environment be neat can clean, and have firm confident contours, but leave the twisted sketch lines for the character; I couldn't think of a better visual representation of having doubts in your artistic ability.

Regardless of whether the demands you're struggling with are your own, or are externally imposed, you have long since cross the threshold between simply trying your hand at art, and having developed a style and a direction to set you apart as a significant presence on the creative scene.

Sorry I missed that questionnaire journal of yours about what makes you distinctive and recognizable, I'll try to answer it before tomorrow.

May nothing bar your way to drawing what you wish, and may you always come out of dark valleys like this wiser and better prepared to face the day! Thank you for your hard work and excellent taste!

I was really surprised on how many people here picked on this sketchy and clean lines contrast, at the time I drew this scene, I wasn't really thinking about the statement the contrast would make, I somehow just wanted to be done with the drawing and that translated in the messy character ^^;

I would say that part of the issue is that I aspire to become a professional artist, but there is a massive gap of what I enjoy making and what is in demand, and there is only so much that improving on technique can help. For those naturally inclined to create what is in demand, things may go a bit easier, but I'm stuck with my own preferences, for good or for bad, and that could be a showstopper to achieve a career in art.

In any case, I still have a lot to learn before I can dare send my first application to an art job, so I probably shouldn't worry too much about this at the moment, but these thoughts frequently come back.

I believe the goal is to learn to do what you love best so well that the winds of artistic commerce will fill your sails all on their own, but people have expired waiting for that to happen. The artists whom I admire and respect the most for their invention, passion and technique enjoy only a fraction of audience attention that a middling-tier creator would normally get on a site like this (as much as I hate tiering creators).

On the externally attributed meaning behind the contrast of contour lines, sometimes the your mind instills the deeper meaning into the piece of art in production surreptitiously, sometimes you construct something complex enough that it spawns new meanings upon thinking about it for a while. Serendipitous stuff like that is why being an artist is so exciting -- the raw power of creating new meanings is really awesome.

I think that interpretation suggests itself because the character is seen putting away the drawing tablet in frustration, likely having stopped in the middle of drawing something challenging, and the idea of an incomplete drawing joins merrily with the sketchy texture inside the character's silhouette, which expands the title from the frustration of drawing, to the frustration with depicting, defining, conceptualizing oneself.