Sometimes I Hate My Own Art (and You Should, Too)

I told my youngest son the title of this post and he said it sounds like EVERYONE should hate MY art but that is not at all what I'm going for. Sometimes, I hate my own art and sometimes, you should hate your own art, too. 

Most of my creative life, I've been a solo act. Artist and critic, all rolled into one. Thankfully, I have creative people in my life now who help me work through my challenges but that drive to be my own worst critic never goes away. And it shouldn't. Being able to critique your own work is really important. 

I posted in January and most of February about a book I'm working on and I'm really struggling with the dolls. I have all of my reference material ready to go. I have a working title. The concept is totally ready for take-off. The dolls are not.

First, I tried drawing them. They were ok but stiff and lacking something, but I don't know what....

Then, I experimented with tracing so that I could learn about poses. And I learned a lot! But not quite enough....   

 

This has been languishing on my iPad for a couple of weeks. I thought maybe the head was too small so I modified it (that's the image on the right). It's a little better but it still feels odd.

Maybe it's fine. Maybe I'm too critical. There are things I like: the arms are both great. I worked really hard on the feet, the overall pose is fine. But it feels too long, too lanky, and just not right. I really noticed it after I did another drawing.

Here's the rough sketch from my little sketchbook - it's 8.5 inches by 5.5 inches.

I then traced my rough sketch using a light table with the idea that I might paint this one traditionally. Spoiler: I didn't.

Here's the line drawing from Procreate. It's going in the next issue of Paperdoll Review - the theme is Tea Party. You'll have to wait and see what I cooked up! 

The point is, I LOVE this little tea gal! It feels like me, like I'm not trying to hard. It just came together and I'm happy with it. I feel like maybe I'm trying to force a breakthrough or try to be something that I'm just not yet. So it's back to the drawing board, again, and I really think the third time will be the charm!