#me bc i have about 30 liked things and literally 2k reblogs

[soosdraws]

I hope it’s ok to ask for advice but how do you stay motivated with an art blog? I always end up deleting 😭

SO I TYPED THIS UP IN MY NOTES APP BC THIS IS SUPER LONG BUT,,,

ANYHOW! Of course it’s okay! Don’t hesitate to ask anything 💖 I hope you don’t mind the late response, I wanted to take time to answer it because it’s something I really used to struggle with too!

I can only talk about what works for me personally, but I hope my way of thinking helps you out ;;;;

Anyways, first of all I would say: don’t give a shit! About anything or anyone! I also used to have an art blog before this one (that I deleted lol) but it was because I was really focused on trying to get notes and stuff that it completely made me not want to draw??? Or I was focused too much on trying to “find a style” or keep my art blog all consistent and nice. That really made me sad and just… not want to run an art blog. So I deleted. However, for this one, I literally just started it because I was bored one day during college and just wanted to start posting stuff again so I just??? Did??? And THEN I fell back into Naruto and it became like the only thing I drew, which really is where my blog started to grow!

At this point, as you can probably tell, I really… don’t care about much lol like at first I wanted to keep this an art only blog which… UM. YEAH… now I just kinda post anything I want? Even the random thoughts I have at 2AM that are probably really stupid in hind sight. But I think that’s okay actually! It lets other people know who you are better and also kinda gets rid of some boundaries where it allows other people to share their thoughts with you too! And then you make mutuals, then friends, and it’s all really fun lol

Also notes! I think that’s really what brings down a lot of artists. Because it shows that people are viewing your content and appreciating it! And it’s completely valid. Like you’re allowed to feel upset if something you worked really hard on doesn’t get the attention you want. And I fell into that a lot too! Like in the beginning when I posted my stuff (not on this one, but the blog I deleted) I’d probably get a single note or maybe 30 at most? And it really brought down my self confidence, thinking that maybe I really wasn’t good enough and no one liked my art. But that’s not true at all! It’s just very hard to get attention on a site that has millions of other talented people. You’re also VERY talented, it’s just a matter of finding your own audience, which comes in time! Like even now, yeah I have art that hit 2k+ notes, but I also have my fair share that still are in the single digits lol and at first I was still really disheartened by that, but now I’m more okay with it, because as I said, I’ve sorta stopped trying to focus on the notes part. Instead, I just try to post what I like, and what I think is good and if it doesn’t get that many notes, instead of dwelling on feeling bad I immediately hype myself up going like “ITS OKAY!!! There’s always next time!!!” And just draw the next idea I wanted to draw to get my mind off things. My motivator is usually myself and like just always having a next thing to draw lol. And if you can’t think of things to draw, just draw whatever! Like a stick figure, usually studies of things help a lot! From photographs or real life. It really sharpens up your skills 💖 and once you start mindlessly drawing, sometimes you start to just find love in what you’re doing and you find that in the end? It’s okay that your art didn’t maybe get enough notes, because YOU love it.

However, there are definitely times where that’s not the case, and it’s okay to let yourself be sad. Vent it out, even if it’s not art. I’ve just actually taken a nap sometimes when I felt too sad to do anything lol And then refresh!

Which leads to my second point! Draw what YOU love! There’s a lot of artists, me included, that try to draw things that are “in” or popular, in order to gain a following and that is completely okay!! However, for me I just couldn’t keep up with it and I just became overwhelmed with the plethora of other talented artists that were also drawing for that certain thing and instead fell back into self-doubt. As for this time though, I literally found that I couldn’t stop drawing Naruto lmao. Like I just have so many ideas I want to draw for the fandom and I found that since I’m passionate in it, others who are into it also just naturally fall into it! So if you enjoy it, that’s the best part for sure 💖

And like, if you find that you’ve run yourself dry of inspiration, reason, or love for drawing: take a break! I actually took a really long break from art one time (I mean like… a complete year I just didn’t draw anything omg) because my self-confidence had hit rock bottom. Instead, take time to seek out shows, books, nature walks, or just anything besides art to keep you occupied and one day the want to draw will just like… hit you. And when that feeling hits, draw! And if you like it post it! Start anew too if you feel like it! And if your next drawing inspiration doesn’t hit for awhile that’s okay too 💖 it can be really pressuring to feel like you need to keep posting art in order to keep your audience engaged but that will tire you out. Just post your best quality work that YOU love! And you’ll find that the fact that it getting not many notes or any of that other self-doubt thin that we artists usually have in common, start to fade away a little.

Also, be your own hype man!! Like you didn’t get enough notes?? Post again or reblog your post again and be like “HEY!! I DREW THIS!!!” Like there’s no shame in wanting validation for your work. And if you start feeling bad about the lack of audience just be your own #1 fan. It was like that for me for awhile too, because I started this blog only a few months ago?? And of course in the beginning it was just like me and my one (1) irl friend and I was just like hey I really like this thing I drew!! I’m gonna post it!!! And just kept doing that! Make your art be about YOU and what you love and motivation will naturally come to you! Also don’t hesitate to reach out to your friends to hype you up too. Like obviously, we can’t support ourselves 100% of the time, and during those times just take time to be with people who you know will give you love 💖

And if you do decide to start up and art blog please tell me (only if you want djfjsjdjjs) I’ll support you 💖 we artists gotta stick together since we’re always our worst critic 💪