Dear AD, I've been researching 'Survivor Bias' lately, and have been worried it might be able to apply to an art career. We see excelling artists tell us what they did right, but we don't see failed artists, let alone get to know what they did wrong. Could you tell us the main 'do not's, and what might hold back an otherwise talented artist from succeeding? I want to maximise my chances! Thanks!
Oooo great angle. I like how you’re thinking! Survivor Bias is something we’ve been thinking a lot about here at DearAD as we work on some new educational projects at our Drawn + Drafted HQ.
So, this is an unofficial survey, but I do a LOT of portfolio reviews and I can say that these things hold many many people back:
(technical)
—Does not use/understand visual hierarchy
—Don’t thumbnail out compositions in advance, or if they do it’s not in the defined shape they want the final to be, or they don’t think about the shape/size of the piece until they’re halfway thru and leave to much “filler”
—Trying to fit 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag, er, composition
—Not enough contrast overall, in every way I can mean that
—Is a terrible judge of their own abilities/pieces/quality level/skill
(mental)
—Too busy explaining/arguing/defending your intent that you don’t consider feedback
—Don’t get enough feedback from varied sources
—Scared to try any big steps and experiment so they only improve by millimeters because they’re afraid to fail
—Don’t prioritize practicing their skills
—Spend too long on one piece, noodling
—Spending more time criticizing or envying others’ art rather than focusing on themselves and their own craft
—convincing themselves to give up before they try
—afraid of failure
—afraid of success
—too much self-doubt to promote their work properly
That’s just what comes to mind immediately, there’s more I’m sure, but those are the big ones. Nothing hurts me more than seeing an artist with all the tools and skills just not have either the perseverance or the self-reflection to keep moving forward. Everyone gets stuck sometimes, but those of us that “make it” aren’t surprised by difficulties, we expect them, and know pushing thru them is part of the process.
Artists toss around the terms “break in” and “break though” all the time, but never stop to think about what those phrases actually mean. It means you’re going to have to struggle at some points. You can’t have a breakthrough…without a wall that you have to bang your head on for a while before you break though it.
—Agent KillFee
