Why It’s Taken Me So Long To Get Started

There is a fine line between being inspired by the work of a favourite illustrator and being crippled with self doubt that your work will never be as good or look as professional.

This has been a big problem for me so far and has been the biggest stumbling block in following my passion and making the move into a professional illustration career…

I would spend hours procrastinating, looking at the beautiful work created by my contemporary illustration heroes like James Jean, Jon Foster and Ashley Wood. Only to then look back at my work and think it looked crap and not good enough to be in a portfolio that I would be presenting to Art Directors.

My wife would ask me “What is it about your work that you don’t think makes it look professional?” and I could never quite put my finger on it - there was just a quality about the work that I didn’t think my work had.

I would occasionally complete a piece that I thought showed improvement only to work on the next piece and have it turn out horribly, sending me right back to that ‘not good enough’ place. It got so bad that for long periods of time I just stopped drawing. I had lots of pieces that I planned in my head (in that safe place where all your illustrations look fantastic) but by not actually starting work on them it was a comfort knowing that they would still turn out to be masterpieces.

Self-doubt is common amongst creatives whether it be artists, musicians or actors, but if I was ever going to fulfill my dream and follow my passion, it was time to take the bull by the horns and get over myself.

Here’s how I did it (and am still doing it)…

Be realistic:

Remember that even your favourite illustrators started somewhere - they didn’t all come out fully formed as the artists they are today (well, ok maybe James Jean is the freaky exception there!).

The illustrators you admire have spent countless hours honing their skills and evolving as artists over the years they have devoted to their craft and the experience they have gained working on live jobs - it won’t happen overnight for you either, so be realistic about what you can achieve and when you can achieve it by.

Be positive:

Don’t start an illustration thinking it is going to turn out horribly - believe that you can pull that image from your head a put it down on paper/screen. Don’t over think what you are doing and be too precious, trust in you ability and just go for it.

If you find a blank sheet of paper the scariest thing in the world - spill your coffee on it, wipe your feet on it or scribble on it (this really works by the way) anything that breaks down the mental barrier of staring at that blank sheet of paper!

Turn off the internet:

The worst thing you can do is pore over your favourite artist/illustrators website for inspiration when you’re trying to create something yourself - those comparisons will just rear their ugly heads again and become crippling. Turn off the internet and just create what comes.

Take action & just DO something:

Self doubt is something that I still really struggle with but by having a few tricks up your sleeve and most importantly recognising it for what it is when it does crop up, it’s a barrier that you can break down.

The most important thing is to just DO something. Anything. And do it now.