Thanks for stopping by and sharing your numbers with us. I really appreciate your kind words and I hope that you stick around here and continue to join in on the conversation

Now that I’ve become a parent I realize that my parents weren’t really as clueless as I initially thought, although I know exactly what you’re talking about when it comes to the way they see you as an artist.

You see, parents have this habit of seeing their kids as their kids, and sometimes it’s hard for them to see your talents objectively. Where you see building an art career, all they can see is insecurity. When you see yourself as a professional artist, all they see is their kid doing art. When they see you on Twitter, FB, and DevArt all they see is their kid wasting more time on the computer.

Let’s face it, we’re living in a lot different world than our parents grew up in. Thirty years ago, writers, artists, and musicians didn’t sell their work online because there was no “online”. You grew up, you got a job with an publishing or advertising agency and you created what your bosses told you to create. That was essentially your “art career”, unless you were one of those hippie-radical painters who were lucky enough to find a gallery to sell your work.

All any of us can really hope for is to find a few kindred creative spirits who will support us along the way. There is of course no right or wrong answer here, just commit yourself to listening to your heart and following your own path. Keep in mind, however, that no matter which path you choose there will always be haters and doubters along the way — but there will also be people out there who will support you and your dreams no matter what. My advice would be to ignore the first and find the second.

Thanks again Ashley and welcome to the neighborhood!

But their doubts I can ignore as they were there before my own doubts set in. My own self-doubt is strong enough to slow me down and keep me wondering if I should pursue animation or art in general. My doubts that I draw to slow or that I’m not good enough. I’ll attempt to make it a goal for the year to try not to doubt myself so much.

This is a wonderful site you have. So many great articles that I’ll have to get though. It so happened I found your site yesterday when I voiced some of my doubts on another website. I wasn’t directly linked here, but I was linked to Char Reed and found your site through hers. I really hope to learn a lot here.

I think, at least for me, the first step to getting past these type of fears was to understand that I was not the only one who was constantly haunted by these fears and doubts.

Not that they’ve packed up and gone away by any means. Trust me, they’re still around and they like nothing more than to rear their ugly little heads when I least expect them. What I have learned, however, is that these feelings of doubt will eventually pass if I can somehow find a way to keep going and work my way through it. . .

Thanks again Bill, I hope to hear from you again soon!

Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

As you may have already noticed, we’ve got a fantastic group of creative souls here who are incredibly knowledgable, friendly, and supportive. I hope you get a chance to stop by again soon and by the way . . .

Welcome home