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 890]

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

[Trot Shuffle 3,596]

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.