Artist regret

[AnonyPoni 564]

I definitely get that. I dont draw much, but I often regret what I write in a story. People say the story is great, but I'm to afraid people will judge me if I go too deep with it.

[Cosmic Charlie 129]

When I am recording my songs, I absolutely refuse to let anyone hear it until it's done AND it's good enough, as far as I can possibly manage, to be on par with some of the best music out there AND it's something that I would listen to and actually like if I wasn't the one who created it, which feels to me like something you just can't do without being a narcissist asshole.

 

And you can bet I'm never satisfied, constantly cursing the slight off-pitch note here and the mumbled lyric there. I can't shake the feeling that every compliment I get is actually patronizing me.

 

So why do I do it? I have the songs in my head, and it's not very satisfying to hear them only in your imagination, so I have to record them myself so I can actually hear them, and then sometimes other people like them as well, I guess.

[Raiyny Day 71]

I don't really get this, I just look at my art a while after I create it and do a bit of self critiques. But there are the times when I just hate a drawing and stop working on it

[Tom 891]

I get this sometimes with writing, but not often. Probably because I don't write a lot.

[Espy Vibe 4,278]

I've gotten this a lot too, but something I've learned is rather than look at what you weren't able to complete or make "perfect" and beat yourself up over it, look at what you were able to accomplish instead.

If you're struggling with a specific detail, learn by practicing something new on smaller scales. Copying is a valid way to learn as well. It might sound strange, but how else are you going to find what you like making creatively? Don't be scared to gain influence from places nobody would ever consider as well, after all that's how creativity shines through and people are called "genuises" as a result.

And of course keep creating as much as you can. It doesn't have to be complete. The moment you begin to second guess yourself, push it off for later and come back to it with a fresh perspective. You might feel a lightbulb go off and be able to complete it!

Lastly, I'll end this off with what I learned from my favorite music artist, Calibre.

He's nuts with how much music he's able to produce. He's notorious for being able to make hundreds if not thousands of songs per year! He's released a lot of these unreleased works under his 'Shelflife' albums, which comprise of things he's made between the early 2000s to today.

It sounds as if he's proud of everything he's made, but that's incorrect. He's said before (and people who he's closely associated with) that he's been ashamed at some stuff he's made, where he'd destroy it the moment it was finished out of embarrassment. One story in particular from DJ Fabio (who helped him release his first album) says Calibre destroyed one of his own best works way back in the day! Fabio wanted to release it but it was already destroyed, no copies were made so one can only guess what it sounded like.

Another person wanted to remix one of his songs, but Calibre had already destroyed all the tapes necessary to make a remix of because he was ashamed of it.

Nowadays he's come to terms with his self sabotage and he's just happy if people can listen to his works (especially older ones).

Learning of his story made me feel more at ease with what I make, and even the people I take inspiration from have gone through the same thoughts I'm going through.

If I keep creating, everything will work out just fine and I'll learn what kinds of processes I like and don't like at my own pace. 

[ZiggWheelsManning 10,241]

It was some OC on Second Life, perhaps a house to go with it.  My exploration of a fake world was short-lived  

[EpicEnergy 23,218]

I had that before, it's not fun. Like I'm not an artist but some stuff I've made I felt disappointed in.

Edited November 18 by EpicEnergy

[Iforgotmybrain 5,653]

I have this with most things I create. There’s always something I could fix or improve in my mind, so it feels like whatever I end up creating isn’t really good enough.

Funny enough there’s a QOTSA song (Turnin’ on the Screw) that deals with this subject. Wherein Josh Homme basically says “It’s better to try something and fail than let fear of failure paralyze you into never trying at all”. Can’t say I disagree with him, since that’s usually the mindset I have now whenever I post something I write. If it’s bad, it’s bad. At least I actually made something.

[IronM17 5,373]

I know that feeling. I start to creat something which looks in my mind amazing, but after I finish it, I am not always completely happy with the result. This can be really anoying. 

[Dreambiscuit 9,691]

I think this is pretty much universal. There’s a quote, “As with all great artists, it wasn’t good enough,” and it comes as part of the territory to anyone who’s creative. To have an artistic eye is to have the desire, perspective and sometimes talent to create something others don’t see or can’t imagine. But seeing it in the mind’s eye and putting that vision on paper, canvas, in clay or even in a video game is the real challenge. Sometimes it takes a long time to create a work of art, and the artist can lose perspective after staring at the same piece for too long. So it’s often good to take a step back, clear the mind and then return to the work with a fresh eye. There are so many obstacles to overcome in creating art, and one’s own perspective is the biggest one. Artists see what others don’t, even in their own work, so they may see the bad (which others don’t see) or too much good (which others may not see). The best way to approach it is to enjoy the act of creation without worrying about the outcome or opinions of others. Just enjoy the process, for better or worse.

[ZiggWheelsManning 10,241]

We all have bad artist moments @Dreambiscuit.  But we learn and become good artists afterwards  

[Dreambiscuit 9,691]

3 hours ago, ZiggWheelsManning said:

We all have bad artist moments @Dreambiscuit.  But we learn and become good artists afterwards  

True. And learning is half the fun!

[Xada 370]

Usualy i don't feel bad about what i create. However i do admit that most of my electronic music sucks in hindsight.