Getting over the fear of sharing your art
When I first started posting my art I was still learning, and my drawing skills were not where I wanted them to be. I remember looking at the work of other artists' whom I admired and feeling like my drawings could never stand a chance. I was afraid.
But because I am stubborn and a bit of a dreamer I endured through the self-inflicted shame and doubts and pushed myself to put my art out there for everyone to see (and judge). Now, I am living my dream; I have been sharing my art online for over fourteen years, the last seven of which I have been working as an artist professionally. And I want you to be able to take that first step towards yours as well.
So how do you overcome the fear of posting online? Here are some of the lessons I learned along the way:
Being scared is okay.
Separate your self worth from your art.
Learn to distinguish helpful and unhelpful feedback.
Learn to leverage constructive criticism.
Don't compare yourself to others.
Start small and find a safe community.
Now I know that this sound easier said than done, stepping out of our comfort zone is uncomfortable and sometimes scary. But if you are reading this post, it means that there is something that is driving you forward. This desire you have to overcome the fears that are holding you back is proof of your courage.
One of my greatest fears was talking into a microphone; I have always been shy, but microphones were my nemesis. I was so scared I would stand in front of my mic trying to record, and I would freeze and say nothing for hours, words just wouldn't come out, and when they did well, it was a mess.
Since this was a required skill for my career of choice, and I knew I wanted to be able to it. I decided to keep trying, every day, I would try to record, and I remember being so frustrated and embarrassed at the start. It was hard and deeply demotivating when I couldn't do it, But it slowly got better with practice, and then it started feeling less scary, and I even started enjoying myself!
BEING SCARED IS OKAY
Being scared of doing something important to us is entirely natural. You might be surprised to know that some of your idols share the same fears as you do, they just found ways to acknowledge it and take action despite their concerns.
I am a firm believer that fear is not something we have to "overcome" but to understand and leverage. It can help us tune in with what is truly important to us and what we need to work on in our life.
Whenever I feel scared of doing something, I always try to remind myself that being brave is not getting rid of fear but to feel the fear and act anyway.
SEPARATE YOUR SELF WORTH FROM YOUR ART
Creating art can be a very personal process; sometimes, we pour our feelings into it or create it in the hope that it will help us achieve a specific goal; to pursue an art career or to connect with other creative people. When I started posting online, I was hoping to find work through commissions. I poured hundreds of hours in my paintings and created the best looking commission page I could put together. The result was complete silence. I did not receive a single comment or request. I felt discouraged, and because I didn't yet understand how to make art that people need or want to buy, I thought that my art was terrible and that I just wasn't good enough. It took me years to understand that although my drawing skills did need to improve, there was absolutely nothing wrong with me or my art. I learned to measure my worth by my actions not by the number of comments or likes I received.
If you are getting back to drawing after a long time, it's important to remember that the journey of improvement is a process. It's okay if your first few attempts don't turn out as expected, or if you receive negative feedback along the way. Separating your self-worth from your art can help you avoid taking critiques too personally and help you continue to create without letting fear and self-doubt hold you back.
Back then, I should have been proud of myself for taking that first step even though it was awkward and embarrassing at that moment. I wouldn't be where I am now if I didn't go through with it, so you should be proud of yourself too, for seeking ways to push past your fears.
LEARN TO DISTINGUISH HELPFUL AND UNHELPFUL FEEDBACK
Although my first attempts at sharing my artwork were met with silence, it did not last forever. Comments did come, and they weren't always words of encouragement.
There are a few things that are bound to happen when sharing about ourself and our work online, some are great, and some can be very harsh. Comments and feedback can be both.
I wrote more in-depth about giving and recognizing helpful feedback in another blog post, but here are a few questions you can ask yourself when assessing other people's feedback:
Who is it coming from? Is this person a professional, do they have experience in the subject?
Is it actionable? Are they giving enough information to act upon or think about?
Something important to keep in mind is that not all negative feedback is bad: Having a trustworthy mentor telling you you are making a mistake, and giving you insights on how to fix them will help you grow much faster. You would call this Constructive criticism. On the other hand, having a friend telling you everything you do is amazing, and it should hang in a museum, feels fantastic, but it might not be the best help to grow your skills.
DON'T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS
Remind yourself that you are on a journey. Maybe you are just starting, or getting back into drawing after a long break, or perhaps you are an accomplished artist thinking to take the leap and quit your nine to five and start an independent career. Wherever you might be, that's your adventure, and you have the right to share it with the world. Other people might have already achieved some of the goals you have set for yourself, but they had to start somewhere too, sometimes we only see the tip of the iceberg, and we don't know what their journey looked like before getting to where they are now.
START SMALL AND FIND A SAFE COMMUNITY
There is no right or wrong way to approach doing something scary; there is only what is right for you and what isn't. You will commonly see two types of people in this world, those who jump into the cold water to get it over with quickly, and those who walk in inch by inch so that they can get used to it slowly.
If you are a person who needs to take small steps to gain confidence (like me), perhaps the best approach for you would be to start sharing your work only with a few selected people you trust. Join a course or art class and learn to present your art to your peers or start a private social media account where you can start becoming comfortable with sharing your works online.
If you are more of a jump into things type of person (I envy you). The right approach for you might be to start filming your first YouTube video today or share your current portfolio online, ask for feedback and get ready to face the comments (or the silence) headfirst.
TAKING THE FIRST STEP
We are all afraid of something. Fear never truly goes away because it is part of being human; its a compass to steer us away from danger. But we can use it to point ourselves towards the obstacles which are truly important to us, so we can surpass them to achieve our dreams.
My challenge for you is to take one small step today towards learning to manage your fear, practise a skill, share something with a friend or create your social media accounts, for example.
You can let me know what your first step is in the comments section below; I would love to see what you do.
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