My premium membership is about to expire so I figured I'd better do a journal entry, even if it might just be pointless and disorganized.
Many times, I've seen people say "I can't draw." I don't know how often I've seen it but I'm pretty sure other people say "I wish I could draw."
Well, guess what? I don't have much talent for drawing, at least not the "natural talent" people seem to think artists have. Drawing isn't much different from spelling, or driving. Some people are naturally better at it than others and some are pretty bad at spelling or driving but most everyone has to work at driving and spelling until they can do it.
The truth is, I'm not a natural artist. I didn't start improving until I was in my early teens and I picked up a cartooning book. Before that, I drew but I never improved. I'm still way behind most artists my age and I struggle to improve. I have to be careful not to compare myself to others because most everyone my age is better than I am. Most of them started improving at a young age. Were they naturals or did they just learn how to improve earlier on? I don't know but I do know I'm not a natural artist. It's hard. I just keep working at it and trying to improve. The same goes for writing. In both cases, God gave me the ideas and motivation but I still have to learn for myself. It's not something I just magically knew how to do. I have to work to improve. I think I probably have more "natural talent" for writing but even that isn't always easy for me. I have to work at it.
I guess my point is, don't beat yourself down because you're not as good as the next artist your age, or under your age. Even if it doesn't come naturally to you, you CAN get better. You might just need to work harder, like I had to when I started driving. Also, never compare yourself to other artists. Instead of thinking, "I wish I could draw like that," think "I might be able to draw like that someday if I keep working at it." If you want to do something, you need to work at it to perfect your craft. You can't just expect something you do to just magically be a great piece of art. Everything takes practice so don't give up. Keep practicing and improving. It's not a race. Everyone learns at their own speed so keep going, even if you're a slow learner.