*sigh* I feel discouraged, but before the angst and self pity, I do want to thank everyone who watches me. Watches, to me, tell me that I'm good enough to have people actually waiting for me to post something. And that helps.


OK, now the whining and moping.

Like I said, I feel discouraged. I know that my art is...well, pretty good; I guess, I don't want to sound like I have a big head or anything ('cause believe me, right now my head's the size of a raisin!), but the fact is, as I look around this site and see other people's art, see all of the praise they get for how great and talented they are, how many people watch them and favorite their art........I have to wonder: am I really as good as some people say I am? People have said to me that I'm very talented, but when I think of what kind of reactions they'd probably have if they saw some of the people here.....example, "Wow, Stephanie, at first I thought your art was great, but then I saw so-and-so's art and I've come to realize that your art really SUCKS!!!" (yeah, I know they'd probably never say that to my face but that's what they're thinking...)....uuugggh, it gets all of my insecurities worked up and my hopes crushed. It really makes me feel like I have no fighting chance against some of these people. Will I ever be able to measure up to those kind of artists? Will I ever get the standard, "OMGURARTSSOOOOOOPURTY!!!!!LOL!!!!IAMSOOOOOWATCHINGU!!!!!" fan note? I mean, yeah, it's really nice when people say my art's cute and everything, but they don't seem to get worked up about it like they do for other people. Am I doing something wrong? Maybe it's the way I color. I notice that a lot of really popular artists use some sort of computer program to color their art. I admit, it does look better. The colors, both solid and blended are smoother, the shading/highlighting's more realistic, and, let's face it, Photoshop's got some pretty nifty special effects stuff up it's sleeve! Notice how I'm not ragging on the art itself, just the coloring. I've even asked about my art being as good as other artists, and they've said, "The art's just as good (RELIEF!), but the coloring you should work on." So I'm wondering is it that?

Or maybe it's not the coloring. Maybe it's the art itself. Maybe its both. Maybe it's neither. Maybe it's because I'm not exposing myself enough. I don't know how other people got to be so noticed at the beginning, but it seems like they just stuck their art there and in come the favorites/comments/praise. Did their popularity happen overnight? How should I know? They won't talk to me.

Well, uh, that's all I can think of right now. Besides, my dad wants me off the computer. Any feedback would be appreciated