Re: Fall 2021 Art Goals, Part Two
Sep. 14th, 2021 08:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingI submitted my second illustration and put the third in a folder somewhere. It’s a good piece, and I’m sure I’ll come back to it later.
I also put together of a lineup of illustration and design projects I actually want to work on, and I feel good about the future.
Instead of “rejection is a natural part of the creative process,” I think what I would say is this:
(a) Some people seem to lead a charmed life. Don’t compare yourself to them. They have their own problems. 99 times out of 100 they will burn out and disappear, and in a few years you’ll forget they ever existed. Sometimes they don’t burn out but disappear into very niche work, which is basically the same thing. People who consistently produce good and interesting work into adulthood are extremely rare, and they usually have formal creative training and supportive families, not to mention the benefits of a socialist government.
(b) For the rest of us, it just takes time. There’s a seven-year line to get into any creative field, and that’s seven years of active hustle, not waiting for someone to discover you. It’s important to enjoy small successes along the way while understanding that a baseline level of success isn’t guaranteed before you get your foot in the door.
(c) If at first you don’t succeed, it can be useful to reevaluate your definition of success. A lot of “success” at the beginning of a creative career isn’t “finding an audience,” necessarily, but finding venues where your work is a good fit. Learning to market yourself as a professional is also something that takes time and experience.
(d) Social media is a lie. I’m not sure how else to say this. What you see isn’t real and it doesn’t matter.
(e) It’s okay to feel bad, but try not to dwell on it for more than a day. The best revenge is being happy.
(f) In the end, the best way to deal with rejection is to learn from it by not putting yourself in situations where you’re likely to be rejected.
^ For me, this last bit means “be careful about working with white men.” I don’t categorically hate white men, but every time something shitty happens with something I’m trying to publish the editor is always, 100% of the time, invariably, a white man. Then again, some of my best editors have been white men, so it’s always a gamble. I guess there are just a lot of white male editors in the world.
Anyway this is just my advice to myself. Your mileage may vary.
I also put together of a lineup of illustration and design projects I actually want to work on, and I feel good about the future.
Instead of “rejection is a natural part of the creative process,” I think what I would say is this:
(a) Some people seem to lead a charmed life. Don’t compare yourself to them. They have their own problems. 99 times out of 100 they will burn out and disappear, and in a few years you’ll forget they ever existed. Sometimes they don’t burn out but disappear into very niche work, which is basically the same thing. People who consistently produce good and interesting work into adulthood are extremely rare, and they usually have formal creative training and supportive families, not to mention the benefits of a socialist government.
(b) For the rest of us, it just takes time. There’s a seven-year line to get into any creative field, and that’s seven years of active hustle, not waiting for someone to discover you. It’s important to enjoy small successes along the way while understanding that a baseline level of success isn’t guaranteed before you get your foot in the door.
(c) If at first you don’t succeed, it can be useful to reevaluate your definition of success. A lot of “success” at the beginning of a creative career isn’t “finding an audience,” necessarily, but finding venues where your work is a good fit. Learning to market yourself as a professional is also something that takes time and experience.
(d) Social media is a lie. I’m not sure how else to say this. What you see isn’t real and it doesn’t matter.
(e) It’s okay to feel bad, but try not to dwell on it for more than a day. The best revenge is being happy.
(f) In the end, the best way to deal with rejection is to learn from it by not putting yourself in situations where you’re likely to be rejected.
^ For me, this last bit means “be careful about working with white men.” I don’t categorically hate white men, but every time something shitty happens with something I’m trying to publish the editor is always, 100% of the time, invariably, a white man. Then again, some of my best editors have been white men, so it’s always a gamble. I guess there are just a lot of white male editors in the world.
Anyway this is just my advice to myself. Your mileage may vary.
