Thread by @delaneykingrox

This made me snort my coffee. Nice work @blargsnarf.

Now, as a side quest, lemme just highlight a few things...

https://twitter.com/blargsnarf/status/1241837336499019776

Lets say these are traits that you have and you think that makes you a 'bad artist'. Can I make you feel less 'bad' about yourself?

What if I told you that most of these fall into three categories.

1. Unregulated ADHD
2. Perfectionism
3. Goals over growth

Okay, so executive dysfunction is an aspect of ADHD where you can't focus your brain where it needs to go in order to serve your goals.

You know what you should be doing, but your brain just can't go there. It's like steering a trolley cart with a busted wheel.

Having executive dysfunction means you go down rabbit holes all the time, which is a great creative trait- many, many artists have ADHD. It's how we explore the world and come back with new stuff.

It also means you can wander off task, so finishing art projects can be hard.

You get a million ideas, but you don't have the ability to steer your ship, so cannot follow them through.

But you have a million ideas... and that can be gold, if you are in a creative role where others can follow through for you.

Other ADHD traits appear all through this bingo card. Hyperfocus, for example, is where you suddenly lock onto a task so hard you don't even notice the room has gone dark or your fingers are frozen. Taking breaks is hard, and stretching because you can't steer your focus.

Okay so I highly recommended getting help for ADHD because there are many ways to regulate it.

Moving on... perfectionism.

So perfectionism isn't having high standards, it is having unrealistic standards- often linked to low self esteem.

You need things to be perfect so you are protected from criticism, get adoration and support. It comes from fear of rejection, and that causes a sickening dread.

Procrastination is often the child of perfectionism. You dread a task and cannot follow it through because the end result will open you up to criticism and rejection. Better to not do it, and keep it in your imagination where it would be perfect.

As an artist, nothing will ever be good enough. That striving for mastery is what makes us good artists. Being unhappy with your work is one thing but you have to keep moving and growing, and you have to finish things.

You need that discomfort to strive.

That fear of rejection is what makes us draw the same faces over and over, or hide limbs we aren't good at.

Be uncomfortable. Push yourself, and you will learn it isn't so bad. You can always erase, layer over, tweak, find reference... WORK at the things.

That discomfort makes you a GOOD artist... but you must learn to look beyond your current work to your PATH.

Sure, this one thing isn't amazing, but I learned at lot... It is done and now I will move onto the next.

Just gotta learn to focus on the journey.

And that leaves me with the last point, which is focusing on the goal not the journey.

Sure, you painted a dozen things nobody will ever see... or a bunch of shitty stuff they did... but what did YOU become in that time. Are YOU better? An artist works on themselves too.

Sometimes you have gotten what you need from a piece of art. There is no need to finish it, it has done its job... you changed.

Maybe later you circle back, use it for something else. That is okay. Because YOU are exploring and growing.

You aren't a bad artist.

Finally, a bunch of these things can be discipline based or you can automate your way out of them.

I use autobackups, I use keystrokes and I have timers on my desk that remind me to save. I work on copies, I make duplicates regularly, I use SVN to save my progress.

Bad artists do not work on themselves.
Bad artists do not grow.
Bad artists do not learn.
Bad artists do not get help (especially for ADHD).

I recommend you do the bingo card, but ask yourself WHY you do those things!

I hope your journey is a great one. X