Advice I wish someone had given me when I was in my early 20’s:
Most jobs require interpersonal relations, even if you’re a solo freelancer. Developing soft skills and getting along with people is often even more important than being good at drawing (or whatever your craft is)
Most jobs require interpersonal relations, even if you’re a solo freelancer. Developing soft skills and getting along with people is often even more important than being good at drawing (or whatever your craft is)
When I see new/young creators acting bitter about not getting opportunities even though they are skilled or talented, it’s an immediate tell that they have worked really hard at learning how to draw or write, but likely still have room to grow when it comes to soft skills.
What’s especially disappointing is when I see young creators acting like gatekeepers—judging whether folks deserve gigs rather than trying to learn how they got those opportunities in the first place. It almost always comes from a place of jealousy, and it’s so counterproductive.
And I get it, as someone who spun their wheels and failed at having a freelance career until I was 27, I promise, I understand the frustration. But bitterness, jealousy, pettiness—these things serve no one, least of all you. “Comparison is an act of violence against the self.”
Anyway I guess my point is, I came across the page of a mega talented young artist whose art was definitely at a level where they could be doing pro work, but when I scrolled through their tweets, it became clear that they weren’t ready in other ways. I ended up not following.
And that’s fine, ultimately I am but one person and you’re not always gonna get along with everyone, etc etc—but...I guess, just know that when you post things on a public platform, you never know who will see, and what kind of a ripple effect that can have. 🤷🏻♀️
There are quite a few people who have responded to this thread or RT'd it with commentary about how they lack soft skills because they are introverted or have social anxiety—and those are valid feelings, but I want to be clear that soft skills are not the same as social skills: 
The social/interpersonal relations element is a big part of having well rounded "soft skills", but they encompass a lot more than that. If you look at your career as RPG stats, you can't just put ALL your points into one. Unless you're so good the other skills don't matter, lol
And yeah ur goddamned right I used a starter character stat menu screenshot from Ragnarok Online, I am an old
