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I've had students in the past ask me the question: "Do you think that I am good enough?"
My answer: "If anyone could say anything in that moment that would keep you from pursuing your dreams, then you should find something else to do with your life."
The point is rarely wether you are good enough now, or not. Likely, you are not; at least not to compete against the seasoned veterans that will be considered for the best projects with the best budgets. An aspiring creative must be willing to put themselves into a position where they can grow within the discipline. An artists should mature over time. This is the natural way of things. Ideally, we will be better in the future than we are today.
The answer to this question doesn't lie in the opinions of others. It is something that you must directly ask yourself.
My answer: "If anyone could say anything in that moment that would keep you from pursuing your dreams, then you should find something else to do with your life."
The point is rarely wether you are good enough now, or not. Likely, you are not; at least not to compete against the seasoned veterans that will be considered for the best projects with the best budgets. An aspiring creative must be willing to put themselves into a position where they can grow within the discipline. An artists should mature over time. This is the natural way of things. Ideally, we will be better in the future than we are today.
The answer to this question doesn't lie in the opinions of others. It is something that you must directly ask yourself.
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7 comments:
Thank you for that, Sterling.
Awesome post, Sterling!. I used to wonder the same thing: Am i good enough? That resulted in making work that borrowed heavily from creatives i looked up to. That work wasn't my own. Now i don't worry about if i'm good enough. I focus on what I'm learning with each new piece i make. Each piece is the next step to making better and better work. Are you good enough? Jobs and awards may tell. A more important question is this: Do you have the drive to keep growing?
Great post! After some time you realize it's not about whether you are good enough but whether you are passionate enough.
Well said.
As they say: the only people worth encouraging are the ones who can't be discouraged.
I've had people purchase paintings from me that I feel weren't all that good and some of my best work is still here, unsold, leaning against my desk.
If I were told that I wasn't good enough, it would hurt a bit, because every artist wants their work to be liked, but I'd still go on drawing and painting. Mostly because regardless of what people think, I *know* a good piece from a bad piece and in the end I can sit satisfied that I'd done a good job on the less popular paintings of mine.
In the end, a rejection from an art director is only a rejection from one person. We, as artists, shouldn't let that discourage us. Put it all into perspective. Move on to another painting; another idea. Keep submitting. If you keep drawing, you'll keep improving.
Thank you Sterling for this post. It's something we artists need to hear from the professionals out there.
ah yes. the million dollar question I've been asking myself...but don't really care much for the answer because I'm going to do what I want anyways. thank you Mr. Hundley.
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