What do you think is more important as an artist; being original or being good? I am at bit of a standstill in the way I draw currently. One way I draw is very natural to me and I can create things that look pretty good, but they still come out looking pretty bland. But when I draw another way I can get my character designs and what not to look very stylish and interesting, but drawing in this way is very difficult and it's hard to stay consistent. Which one do you think I should pursue?
Do the hard thing. Do it until it’s not hard anymore. Do it until you ARE good at it, then try something else you’re not good at and conquer that. Repeat. That’s how you develop a style, that’s how you get better. Don’t stop when you’re still in the pupae stage!
Look, we usually use cute and/or snarky gifs to illustrate our points here, but allow me to get literary for a minute:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
Being an artist isn’t just about getting hired to draw stuff. It’s about choosing a life of personal development. You should never be comfortable where you are. You should always be struggling to better yourself. Those that take the road less traveled are the ones that make an impact with their art.
Let me leave you with slightly more contemporary advice:
