5 Tips for Growing Your Confidence as an Artist

Art Tips

Feb 26

As someone who’s familiar with feeling insecure and totally lost with my art, I’ve struggled with having confidence in my skills as an artist.

But building my confidence is what got me to where I am today, having now illustrated a published children’s book and working for myself full-time as an artist.

So I want to share with you 5 tips I’ve discovered for growing your confidence as an artist!

Tip #1 – Avoid comparing yourself to other artists.

Comparing yourself to other artists can be deflating as well as misleading. I used to compare myself to other artists all the time, thinking to myself ‘I wish I could draw like them’, but it did nothing but leave me feeling unmotivated and uninspired.

The thing to remember is that you don’t know how many hours, weeks, or months that artist has spent developing their art skills. So, when you compare yourself and where you’re at in your own art journey, you could be at a different point to them or perhaps be on a completely different journey altogether!

Once I realised that everyone is at a different point in their own creative path, I found it much easier to avoid comparing my art to others. Now I look at an amazing piece of art and think ‘I’d like to be able to create something like that in the future’ and brainstorm where I need to go in my own journey to get there. Just remember, you won’t get there overnight - and that’s ok!

Tip #2 – Embrace the ‘bad’ art.

I used to expect that every time I drew something, it would turn out to be amazing. But this is an unrealistic expectation to have and it put a lot of pressure on me as an artist. I thought if I drew something ‘bad’ that other people would think I can’t draw, and this held me back from taking chances with my art. That was until I gave myself permission to make art that might not be very good.

With this changed mindset, suddenly I wasn’t burdened with the fear of creating ‘bad’ art which allowed me to experiment, make mistakes, and grow as an artist.

Your creative journey is not a one-way express ticket to making great art all the time, it’s a long, winding road where you’ll pick up different skills along the way. We become excellent at things we spend time learning and practising and if your art skills aren’t where you’d like them to be just yet, you’ll get there as you continue your own journey.

Tip #3 – Surround yourself with an encouraging community.

Being around other creatives who enjoy making art will bring encouragement and inspiration for yourself, because when other people value the same things as us, it gives us confidence and validation that the path we’re on is worthwhile.

If you have people around you that think art is a waste of time, you’re not going to feel good about spending time on your art so it’s important to create a little community of artists, whether that’s online or in person.

When making art friends online, it’s good to remember the advice of our school teachers and treat others the way you want to be treated. If you want encouragement from other artists, start by sending encouragement to others. Find other art accounts on social media and comment what you like about their art, and after a while people will start noticing you and return the encouragement.

Prefer a real-world setting? Find a local art group or class and meet up with fellow artists to encourage each other and create together!

Tip #4 – Be your own cheer squad!

We can’t control how other people think or act, but we can control how we treat and speak to ourselves. Treat yourself like you would a friend and be mindful of negative self-talk because this can have a big impact on our feelings and actions.

If I tell myself I’m not creative and that I can’t draw, I’ll soon start believing that which will stop me from creating and doing the things I enjoy. But if I encourage myself to explore my interesting ideas and believe that I can learn to draw things I find challenging, then I’ll pivot from someone who can’t do those things to someone who can - or can learn.

You are smart, creative, and can learn how to do anything – celebrate that! Admire your own work and note what you like about it. It doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect and it’s ok to critique or make notes about what you’d like to do differently next time, but reflect on what worked and what you enjoyed in the creative process.

Be kind to yourself, because why would you be anything else?

Tip #5 – Your art doesn’t have to be for everyone.

Your art style is yours and it doesn’t have to appeal to everyone else for you to enjoy it. We’re all different people, with different tastes, and that’s a good thing.

Some people see the Mona Lisa as a masterpiece, others wonder what all the fuss is about. There’s no artist in the world that creates art that every single person enjoys. Humans are varied and diverse, and we shouldn’t all like the same thing. This goes for liking your art, my art, or even Banksy’s art.

Embrace the fact that your art isn’t going to appeal to everyone. Instead focus on the value that making it brings to your life and have the confidence to share it with the community of people that love your art as much as you do.

The confidence I’ve achieved through these 5 things has set me on a journey to become a published illustrator and working for myself full-time with my creative skills - I hope they help you build confidence in your own art journey as well.

If you’d like some more help with your art confidence then consider joining my community over on Patreon where you can get access to my drawing tutorials, monthly illustration club and lots of other goodies I share each month, and of course like and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more tips to implement on your own creative journey!

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