Pat yourself on the back

Dude, it’s ok to pat yourself on the back once in a while.

We artists (probably everyone really) are very hard on ourselves and our work. We tend to see everything we did wrong and struggle to appreciate what we do right.

I went to make this post, because people seem to appreciate these side by sides, and when making the split shot view I noticed how well Battle Beast and Thor match.

Keep in mind, I’m freehanding this. And if you watch the full timelapse earlier in my feed, you’ll see that I struggled to get the proportions right on the tiny little sketch cover.

But I did portraits for years, and training my eye to accurately draw/paint what it sees has clearly served me well in this aspect. But at the time I was constantly angry that I wasn’t doing as well as I believed I should.

Just because you aren’t where you want to be today doesn’t mean you’re not on the right path.

This life is all very Miagi/Daniel-san. We get so caught up in what we’re doing and why it matters that I think we tend to miss the opportunity to appreciate that skill building is skill building.

You don’t have to know exactly how those skills are going to serve you in the long run to give yourself a little love for improving your overall capabilities.

We lose plenty, so make sure you celebrate your wins.

Pat yourself on the back, acknowledge your growth, and stack them up until you’re a total badass.