It’s a tough thing that I figure a lot of us deal with; you start making art because you love to make it. Then life hits and you have to make money. The choices are either make money with your art or get a day job that takes away most of your time. Because you want to have time to make art, suddenly you get all wrapped up in making money from art, and its easy to think then that you are only successful as an artist if you make good money from it. We all kind of disagree with that in our hearts, but it is very tough to get out of that mindset.
You create art because you want to. You don't need anymore reason than that especially for something you do on your free time. Some people hike, some people play video games, you do art. why do we need to justify anything we do on our free time?
As a 25 year person who very recently realized that wants to be an Illustrator after being drawing as a hobby for a couple years, I appreciate how honest you are during these videos. It honestly feels kind of refreshing to see someone be open like this, sharing your highs and lows. For artists the ups and downs can hit very hard, since many of the things we create or want to create can be personal for us. I was drawing while listening to this in the background, but decided to pause to write this because again, is nice to see someone being honest about these topics. I hope you keep going and work in what you believe, I'll do the same, (well, I'll try and then lets see what happens).
I turned 25 years old this year and a lot of things changed in my life (financially, spiritually, and mentally) and one thing I learned was that it's really important to put yourself and your aspirations first. Of course there are exceptions, but once I started to value myself and what it is that I truly wanted to pursue, I felt a huge weight fall off my shoulders. I am wishing you the absolute best for your project and I hope you continue to make many more.
My hobby is dancing, exactly doing dance covers, and at some point, I thought why I was doing it, because I didn't get any money or followers etc. And it made me quite depressed and I stopped doing it at all. I was really concentrated only on fame and attention. But time passed, and I have realized that I just like doing it. It can fulfill me. It is what can make me happy. Now, I dance again and I want to improve my skills, I spend a few hours for learning it, for recording, for editing, but the main thing is that I am not waiting for any attention back, it is my choice to spend my time for it, it makes me happy and I want to be better. This is enough reason for doing it. And it's easier.
Hi Rini, I am a new follower of yours. I just want to commend you for being so open. the video feels like a really good intimate moment between friends! I'm 25 and I finally realized that making comics is my passion, but it took me ten years to figure that out. Lots of trial and error, and then finally making money on something that i wasn't passionate about made me realize what I really wanted to be making. Keep going!! Life has so many ups and downs, and for creative people the highs are so high and the lows are so so low.
Hii brittanie!! Thank you so much for your comment and for following me on my journey ヽ(；▽；)ノ❤ I’m glad you’ve been enjoying my videos! You’re right - being an artist is not easy (especially in this day and age) and you’re totally right about how the lows can sometimes be *so low* and the highs be *so high*. I think being an artist is always going to come with a lot of trial and error (x_x;;) which can feel super frustrating at times. But somehow, I feel like that’s what being an artist is kind of all about ( ´ ▽ ` ) Discovering yourself and your creative voice and sharing your creative discoveries with the world. Thank you so much again!! Wishing you all the best on your creative journey- from one artist to another ❤
Hi! Don’t know if you’ll get the chance to read this, but I kid you not when I say I started watching this video right after experiencing negative feelings about my art, very similar to what you were describing. Taking long breaks from art and trying to come back to it is a suchhh difficult thing, and I never realized until recently just how much it affected my progress. I have always dreamed of being a full-time artist for many “whys”: to bring other people joy, to be able to make a living off of it, to create a visual of the world in the perspective of my reality. But it can be so discouraging when sometimes life isn’t in your favor, and you realize those dreams may be much harder to achieve…. And then I watched this video, and it’s like I all of a sudden remembered that I can’t lose sight of why I truly wanted to make art, very simply put, because I have enjoyed it my entire life. It’s a way to relieve my stress, it brings me so much joy to see my creations come to life, it is my passion, and I seem to forget that too often nowadays. “I make what I make to help others feel less alone”.. well let me tell you that you’ve already accomplished this. Those “others” are me, and anyone else in the comments who have been where you are. Its part of the reason why I value RUclips as a digital platform over anywhere else for artists - I feel like I got the chance to know you on a deeper level, not in a parasocial-y type of way, but in a way that truly allows me to see and RELATE to the artist experience in your truest, purest way, no editing included!! I wish more artists I look up to could do the same, but I also understand all too well the pressures of keeping up a perfect image. I subscribed to you not just because I think your art is just adorable, but because I feel like with your words and putting yourself out there you’ve brought even more value to yourself and your art, and just know that whenever you’re in a rut again (because life is unfortunately filled with ups and downs!!), you should be proud of yourself, at least for the many, many people you’ve touched and influenced. I’m rooting for you Rini, and I seriously can’t wait to read your webtoon one day!!! 🥰🩷
I've been a silent watcher for a few days, but I officially subscribed today after watching this video. I relate so much with what you're saying. I, for a long time, struggled with balancing my joy of creating art/comics and wanting to profit from it. It came to the point where my want to profit from it outweighed the joy, and in turn, found myself in this headspace where I couldnt find the motivation to create anymore because I was constantly comparing myself to others who were effortlessly living the art life I'd strived for years to obtain, and I'd barely made a dent in my own progress to reach that same goal. For a few months I've been inching my way back into drawing but it's still an internal battle. I'm slowly pushing through it though to rekindle that fire that was once there. Good thing is that I've recognized the issue...I just need to put love & patience back into the equation to keep myself grounded. Easier said than done, but it's a must😅. You keep at your craft, don't lose sight of what makes you an artist and why you love doing it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us❤
Hii symmage! (´• ᴗ •̥`✿) Thank you so much for subbing and for your thoughtful comment! I'm so happy to hear that you've also had some recent realizations about your artistic practice and are slowly trying to heal and rekindle your fire. It's such a struggle to separate monetization from art (>.
I've just found your channel and I'm so happy for doing so. Almost the same things happened to me and a time came where I left art for 1 to 2 years because it didn't bring me money so I thought it was a waste of my time, but from time to time I'd still do some doodles... I still loved making art. something happened and I came back to drawing again, this time with more love. I still realise that I need to make money and survive and art isn't gonna do it for me (I think so?) even if it does, I don't want to feel stressed out when drawing, I just wanna feel joy, peace, happiness and creative. If I had to, I'll push myself and work hard in order to work a job that earns me money and draw in the same time.. I really appreciate your hard work and thoughts!!
Thank you. When you started reading the watts quote it started hitting me really hard. The most fulfilling moments I've had as an artist are completing projects centered around something deeply meaningful. Pet portraits, therapy pieces allowing me to deal with whatever is on my mind, anything going back to soul connection and overall connection between lives has brought me the most meaning and purpose in my art. Money is what we need to get through this life unfortunately as artists. It's hard but love, understanding, depth and connection is what I've found I continue to push for and why I am here. ART (creativity) mind heART (love) body eARTh (life) soul
Hi, I’m Kavl, I am a PhD social scientist who left academia just 2 years in to follow my calling to turn my art and designs into products. I never wanted to sell my illustrations but creating a creative business and selling art itself is very difficult - kudos to you for taking this leap. Just focus on RUclips and keep making art ❤
My version of success is to be able to live your life where you spend most of it in flow state in the creation of art without worrying about money. i'm a musician and guitarist, even though i come from a different art form i subbed to you because you we're so similar to me. i appreciate your honest open diary video and showed your true self, the highs and lows of being an artist that wants to create something from within. i first heard your story from one of your most popular uploads about being a full time creator and it terrified me that we kinda has a similar mindset. few years ago i quit from my band playing live shows in australia, then even enrolled in a random accounting degree because i thought it would somehow help me financially (kind of what you did). like thinking more about the monetary aspects of art and music made me repulsed because i don't want to feel forced to create something. it made me distant myself from music all together, not even touching my guitar for a long long time. just working at random jobs from supermarkets and warehouses. my passion faded away because of life's burden and responsibilities. making art has to be separated from a job that made money because i didn't want my art to have monetary measures. i also had this all or nothing mentality, black and white. No grey zone at all. for a good solid 4 years i just worked random jobs and saved money (levelling up my financial literacy and business mindset) and now i'm circling back again to music. because playing guitar has always been a source of ultimate flow state in my life. remember when we were kids? we just did things just because we are curious. we didn't question it, critique it or analyse if it can make money lol. we create for the sake of creation, exploring for the sake of adventure. i'm going to start leaning on music and guitar playing again and i'm going to make a new channel to revive my passion for guitar playing! keep on going riniapple, our true path has no prescribed roadmap. we have to keep on going to actualise our own unique potential. because i believe if we succumb to be like everyone else, it will be much more painful. if we pick that normal path we will wake up one day at 65 years old and will be crushed by the weight of our regret that we didn't try at all. the most common regret of old people is "i wish i lived a life true to myself and taken more risks" because the biggest risk is no risk at all. thanks for the vid!
As someone making games from a family that expected me to be a software developer, I can relate to your feelings towards art a lot. There's a strong insecurity about whether or not our work is meaningful, productive, and profitable. I ebb and flow between those worries; sometimes they all subside; sometimes they all inflame at once. I struggle with accepting my art as it is, without judgments applied to it. I appreciate you sharing your experience and giving your insight into things :) Your authenticity and often unedited talks are always comforting and insightful. The final sentence of the quote, "maybe you're one of the lucky ones who don't have to," resonates with me deeply. I worked on a project with a friend who thought he always wanted to make games. Then he worked on it and realized he didn't like working on games. So he simply stopped. Last year was the first year since I was a teen that I didn't create anything and I became a shell. I wasn't sad, it didn't eat at me; I just forgot about it. I got lost in the work and unknowingly started disassociating. I realized I could give up on creating and life would go on. But a part of me would fade away. I'm not one of the lucky ones who can "stop writing", as it were. I have to create. I think a successful artist is one who is capable of bringing concepts in their mind to life, no matter how that is, and in doing so they resonate with some audience, big or small. I also think it's important to have continual expression of ideas without giving in (completely) to outside sources. But to contradict that, a successful artist also uses feedback to reform not only their work, but their concepts/feelings/ideas. My "why" has reshaped a lot over the past year. I used to be obsessed with mechanics in games, and not really focused on the emotional side of creation. I enjoyed world building in D&D, making my friends laugh with my writing, but none of my reasons for creating were deep. Or at least, not emotionally deep. A major "why" for me in games has been (and still is) a desire to innovate games in directions I'm not seeing them be taken. But over the past year I've had some major family events that have affected me mentally and emotionally, reshaping my "why". I want to create something that conveys my emotions, ideas, and perspective as they are now. Both to create a time capsule of my life at this time and to resonate with people like me who could really use something meaningful to relate to. I also want to tell the stories of those around me who have been through some bad times. Now it feels like both my "why"s are combining to create something unique, I just need to be disciplined and execute on my ideas. Sometimes my "why" is simple too. I am studying art when I can because I think it's important to be capable of conveying thoughts visually.
Thank you for talking about it with us.. it such a warm and deep conversation.. Yes, if you love it, then you just have to do it.. and I love your illustrations!!
I remember having that realisation - that I couldn't choose to not be an artist, it was just this urge inside to create, but also share what I'd learnt to my younger self. The hard part is juggling that with finances etc. I'm still learning, but one thing that helped was to think about how I can serve others through my content and art. Create things that others value, give value to others and you might find yourself with the beginnings of a business. Thanks for sharing, hope you can find more balance between art and work :)
Hi Rini, I'm not too much of a commenter-- especially on youtube-- but I just wanted to say something after watching a few of your videos! Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, I feel like you're letting us in on such an important part of yourself and it makes me feel like we're having a long conversation rather than just watching a video. Your voice is so soft and calming and the way you talk about things is so relaxing to me... I've been watching your videos little by little (almost as if to save them) and I look forward to watching a new one every day. It's almost as if time slows down when I sit and watch your videos and it gives me so much hope and courage to work on art. I also read your Follow Your Art webtoon after finding this channel and it was absolutely adorable, I loved everything about it. I cannot wait to see what you're working on next and I hope you'll continue to take us along on your journey whenever you feel comfortable doing so. I wish you nothing but the best and thank you for so many of your treasures with us. Also, please don't apologize for the video length! I cannot tell you how much I love that these are longer videos-- they let me sit down and relax. Have a nice day Rini!!
Thank you so much for making such honest videos. You have now idea how much they mean and how inspiring you are. I am so grateful. The internet is full of videos like "How I make 10k with my art" and it's just frustrating because it never really feels like the truth. I mean, it can be but.. no one has told a story like yours before and it's actually so similar to what I experience and feel. Like.. no my art isn't valued by the money it makes but.. the world reflects that you have to make money out of yourself to be worth something. And that's just a lie. So with that rambling being said: THANK YOU RINIAPPLE ♥ for being you.
I really appreciate the time you put into something you care about whether it's art or other mediums. Your time on this earth is super precious and I love that you really want to expand your skill on art and as a fellow growing artist I can really relate to your struggle and I believe you will one day become bigger artist with a bigger audience as well.
ty for this reminder - keep leading with love, you have nothing to prove to anyone ❤️❤️❤️ this will be so helpful to so many people, thank you for sharing🥹 love you muahmuahmuah
So brave to share and being so authentic, just keep going maybe you are just on the surface of your real potential, and there is only one way to find out, you are awesome, keep going and find your ikigai, and save us from ourselves
seeing your journey is genuinely still so inspiring as a young artist. i am so happy you are still so passionate despite life’s struggles. thank you for being so transparent!
Thank you for sharing i was feeling the same for finding a job in the future but all you says makes me think like you , you are an amazing person and a Great Artist.
I absolutely agree with you 100%. 😊 I've questioned myself a few weeks ago about if I truly want to create a business featuring my illustrations, books, and a few other possible interests. If I do, then why. I'm trying to figure out my own why, but the way you put your why it's essentially your art connects you to others. I feel my why is probably similar. I too have the impression of that a successful artist is one who makes lots of money from doing art. No thanks to always being told growing up, "Get good grades, go to college, and get good REAL money making job". 😅 As a spiritual person I also like inspirational quotes. I have a few quotes hanging up at my desk at work. I'll share 4 of them. These first 2 quotes were said by one of my favorite inspirational people from history, Walt Disney. 😊 "Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional." "That's what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again." The next quote is from another person from history, Abraham Lincoln. "The best way to predict your future is to create it." Last, but certainly not least, this inspirational quote was said by one of my favorite fictional/videogame characters of all time, Sonic the Hedgehog. ❤ "Nothing starts until you take action!" I think that if I decide to try running a business for my creativity I'm not going to put pressure on myself. I'm not going to completely focus on the accumulating money part. I too have a full time job and I am grateful I have one. I would run my business for the purpose of connecting with others from all walks of life. I would make time for my creativity for both my business and myself because I know I've told you before, but I don't want to ever want to feel that emptiness again. I felt so lifeless. Now that I'm understanding that success is not set in stone, it's different for everyone, I feel I truly am getting closer to my why for why I do art of any kind I like to do for myself and for my possible future business. Regardless of what I decide to do I know I need to be gentle, patient, and loving towards myself as I take small, though manageable steps towards my future. Perhaps I can try waking up earlier (or at least when I'm supposed to during the week 😅) and take time for me after I get ready for work, but still have time before I leave for work. Then, on my days off I'll have LOTS of me time to myself before the family wakes up. For the passed two days I've actually woke up just before my first alarm and I truly enjoyed not having to rush in the morning. Thank you for the inspiration and being down-to-earth. ❤ I'll definitely give it a shot to get up earlier. I'm going to tell myself I WANT to get up earlier for me. Not because I HAVE to go to work for work or telling myself I NEED or SHOULD do it. 😊 It'll be something I'll look forward to, especially on my days off. I LOVE the silence. I'll look forward to more videos like these or any other ones you decide to make. Take care and keep up your art! ❤
Hi Rini, thank you for sharing and being so vulnerable with us (and me!). To me, you are a talented and unique artist and writer. The struggles you have had, and shared, resonate with me a lot especially recently as I too, am working full time in a very emotionally demanding profession. Creating nail art and drawing nail designs has been an outlet for me to get back to what I used to love and enjoy as a child, while also giving back to myself now as an adult in my 30s. As I start to create nail art and press on nails, the business and money side has crept in and given me doubts. However your video and the quote has helped reinforce, like you said, my 'why'. Thank you again for sharing. You've given me the encouraging push I need. ❤
Hang in there, the modern world is at war with artists. Make money elsewhere, live cheap, save up as much as you can and preserve art as your happy place. If your comics sell, that will be a huge bonus, but continue creating for you and don't stop feeding your creative spirit. That's what I do anyway. It's frustrating that we can't all create fulltime and there is infinite space in boring mundane cubicles but it's good to have things to look forward to. One day.
I watched this yesterday while I was drawing and cried so much. I'm so glad you decided to share this. I think pursuing art we have to face these questions eventually. I hope we can all make it through. Our hunger for art won't go away in a capitalist world and that's kind of beautiful I think. It's reassuring to know there are so many of us here. Wishing you all the strength 🩷 your art is full of love just like you
Thank you for reminding all of us why we find home in creation. I hope I get to meet you someday and thank you again. You are one of my new favorites, and you inspire us to be our genuine selves, and to bare our souls through our craft
My biggest motivator throughout the years has mostly been spite (that's why I love Rini's work and attitude as it's diametrically opposed to mine.) Something that always pushes me to keep doing something and doing it better is being told "no". I take it as a challenge. And it eventually started to work on my early 30's (I'm almost 40 but it doesn't have to take THAT long for everyone, but it is tho a statement of never giving up, even when you give up, as dumb as that sounds.) Right now I'm living of my work. All those years of stubborn-headed pushing along paid off as in people noticing my strengths and hiring me for them. And then my personal work started to become better and people are now noticing it too. Both them and me figured out I had something to say and share through my comics. There isn't one set path to do things that works for everyone. We all have out motivators to just keep moving. It can be as magical and inspirational as finding a quote that just hits you exactly in the right way at the right time. Or it can be as brash as "Oh, I can't? F*ck you, watch me then!" But find it. Find what it is that gets you going and hold to it forever. You'll be happier for it.
I somehow I relate to this...i had the same experience like u- quit my job coz I'm not happy & so stress with the exploitive work culture here in my country(Asia). I always question myself "is my art not good enough? " is my artstyle not eyecatchy? Whenevr I scroll on insta I get different emotions looking at those accounts that dont even put effort in their content & art but had enormous following....i even saw an art account with a stick figure 😭 sometimes its just frustrating... I just want to say ur not alone, and I think ur art is delicate & beautiful. I hope artist like us whose lost find our way.
this was a very refreshing video. in today's world, we are conditioned to think we must have a profit to enjoy. art can have a lot of benefits, but it is always for the soul first. sometimes, life gets tough and we forget it along the way.
Thank you for sharing your earnest thoughts around this - I watched this at just the right time...we do ourselves a disservice as human beings by denying our own creative urges. I really admire who put themselves out there, connect with others, and build community - which is what you're doing here
Me again. Thank you again for sharing something so personal. I absolutely KNOW that there are other people out there feeling and experiencing the difficulties and maybe even shame that comes with feeling like a failure/having no success creatively monetary wise because I am one of those people. I struggle so often with every thought and point you've laid out on this video but you're not alone and unfortunately there's no answer that can give us freedom from these anxieties but rather we have to go with the flow while trying to carve our own path. A bit of an oxymoron but constantly fighting these emotions is tiring and you end up burning yourself out, lose passion and find yourself back in that pit of "Am I good enough" Your work is great and you can see the effort you put in to it too, unfortunately like you said not everyone gets validation in the form of money and that's a big deal when your livelihood is tied to money. These words can never make up for your own dreams but hopefully bring comfort
Aww, what a lovely video -- thank you so much for sharing this one! Really love the raw-ness and the format of this. You bring up some great questions that artists probably struggle with throughout their journey. I definitely relate to your sort of existential need to create. I haven't ever earned money from my art, but I paint more than anything else in my life I haven't gone a day without painting in around 6 years. I know when I had typical life challenges' that took away time from painting, it dramatically lowered my overall happiness with life. As for my *why*, I've thought about it before and believe I've come to the conclusion that I just love the act of painting, and even if I were financially secure enough that I didn't need to work a normal job and didn't feel any need to make money with my art, I'd still spend all my time painting. I can't imagine doing anything else with my time. The only thing that has ever come close to "replacing" that existential need to create is meditation. I've strongly considered becoming a Buddhist monk or a going down a similar path like doing an extended solitary meditation retreat -- which, on that note, I loved that you brought up Eastern philosophy/spirituality and Alan Watts, which are two things I've become more acquainted with the past few years. Anyway, once again, I loved this video (and all of your videos tbh)!
this really spoke to me. i think it's important to be able to make art for your own wellbeing (or rather art for the sake of it) instead of under duress (hopes of it paying off). and yet here i am, pointlessly plodding along, dreaming about making things and failing to follow through on anything substantial
Your reaction to reading us the quote seem to truly activate and touch the core of your being. A truly powerful experience and it reminds me of how I felt when I decided to pursue music through singing and piano. There's message, emotion, experience we MUST put out into the universe.
If I have learned anything about being an artist all these years, is that true art is not about success or money. True art is about connection, and honesty. It's about the friends we make along the way, no matter how cheesy this may sound. And you have succeed in doing that. Congratulations! Your message truly touched and inspired me. And in the same way I'll be working to inspire others. Have a great weekend and an amazing existence!
Your very réaction to that quote, speaks so much on your why. It's a damn good quote, and even though we're at different stages in our life, it still resonated with me. Thank you for sharing and being vulnerable! It helps all of us. Please keep following what makes you happy, it's worthy of your time.
7:28 It's a classic issue and I definitely fall into it. When I was early in high school I learned programming on my own and really enjoyed it. Quickly decided I'll just do that as a job. In university I had a ton of fun learning theory, math, etc., then had an internship at Big Tech Co and... I don't like this! I still enjoyed school, but programming is truly just a job for me now, which I'm still thankful to have. Nowadays I've found plenty of joy in other hobbies-gardening for wildlife brings me the most and I've signed up to volunteer in a related organization-but I don't think I'll really enjoy programming for its own sake ever again, at least until I stop making money from it. Thank you for the lovely video!
One of the things that makes an Instagram account successful or with good traffic is consistency in style, but my art style has never settled down to something that I am 100% satisfied with. Then, I started to question why I was making art. I needed a theme that I could settle down with. So, that made me question why I am drawing, and what art meant to me. It made me realize how empty my art was. All along, I was drawing for the sake of being liked, for external validation. I notice that it is impossible to separate art and external validation because art needs an audience if you want food on the table and a roof over your head through art. When you are the type that creates art from the soul, the realization crushes you deeply. My conclusion to all this ordeal is that external validation requires a balance with internal validation. We need to repeatedly remind ourselves of the values we keep, and our reasons to continue and to grow. We all have a fear of failure and fear of disappointment. Money seems to be an unfortunate way of quantifying what success is. Indeed, we can just do whatever we want in art. However, most of the things in reality are not black and white. They don't have to be either/or. It can be both. And you have to allow yourself both if you truly want to spend a lot of time in art. You need to find the balance in everything you do. And when you do that, the right audience will find you. This is what I truly believe and hope. We all work for free at first, so let your art have the time to reach the right people. "Critical thinking without hope is cynicism. Hope without critical thinking is naivete." - Maria Popova
Thank you so much for making this video (and all your other videos as well). They all feel so unrushed and authentic, the opposite of most of what is found on the internet today. Even when I'm feeling unconfident or bogged down by the lack of monetisation, your videos make me want to continue to create. I guess they remind me of my 'why' the same way that quote does for you. It's a wonderful quote and I'm definitely going to write it down to remind me of what I'm doing it for. Thank you so much for sharing. I hope you continue to create and continue to love it. You are a successful artist to me.💛
Hi! Thank you for sharing. I think it's really brave of you to be so transparent. It sure takes a lot of guts to show your face and feelings on social media. I respect you and good luck for everything! Go woman!!
I was the same; I spent many years drawing without earning any income from it. But I was always happy with that. Fortunately, I work as a graphic designer, and sometimes I get to create illustrations for my designs. Drawing isn’t easy-many years of persistent practice and working in a visually creative field like graphic design have helped me make a living and improve my drawing skills. I also love design work, but turning a passion into a job with a lot of external pressure can diminish our love for it. I only started wanting to work full-time as an illustrator about a year ago, but I don’t want to turn it into a stressful job, so I chose to do RUclips, hoping that luck will smile upon me and help me make a living with this passion for drawing. Similarly, I wish you luck and success on your journey ❤! Keep going!
this video helps me to realize why I am doing art thank you. I find it really tough to keep doing art because I have seen a lot of friends quit doing art and that makes me sad little bit. The situation in art industry keeps getting worse and the question "why am I work so hard for art?" is really important for artists to decide if they should stay or leave. The reason why I am doing art is because I love anime and it give me good memories from my childhood, so I want to be someone who can give that experience to other people too. It makes me getting close to what I love. I love all of you artists stay strong.
8:06 the idea that if something doesn’t have monetary value it isn’t valuable is so rampant in our culture. It’s also totally wrong. We need to push back on this idea. It totally kills people’s joy in doing things they like.
That's the wholesome badassery quote I needed, needed to hear thank you!! That's the type of sense I look to, towards in a man, when I'm so male influenced, but don't know those specific, personal to me, male creatives. At least I've been drawing and sharing currently on Cara, cause of my unlocked motivation and excitement from last year and building confidence with my art voice. At least it also feels I've been more easily coming to terms and can continue personally understanding and breaking down my unsureness in self and life. Cause I know I want my voice and to protect my happiness (inner child = sister, amongst others.)
Oh my god... I just discovered your channel and wanted to know more about this good looking person in the thumbnail at first (sry if this might come up as rude but irl I'm blunt as f) But then I was blown away by how on point the topics you brought up I am personnally a university dropout due to financial pressure I had to work in the same time and then I couldn't keep up doing both things. At the time it was a beginning of "feeling like a failure" period of my life and only many years later I understood that I was heavily not meeting my nutritive needs (for reference I weigh 55kgs and I'm 177 tall) I have been struggling keeping up with really demanding underpaid jobs for a few years always aiming to be promoted or something and maybe finally start living like a normal human being should but that day never came by 2017 I started realizing I was in a never ending cycle and felt like my life was slipping away I thought "Khalil" you have to face it, you will never break free doing something for someone who doesn't even know you exist, do something you wanna pour your heart into and if that doesn't cut then you probably were never supposed to be born and that's it (I was 28 at that time) So I looked back at my childhood, when I was at my happiest, I remembered how I was excited at old games and going to the arcades etc so I thought, "why not try pixel art?" Surprisingly I was blown away at how approachable it was especially for someone who has no academic studies related to art, all it took for me was to try to copy a sprite of goku for all sorts of steps to start popping up in my head and I got better incredibly quick (by my own standards at least) I was still trying hard because money was the reason I was trying to learn pixel art and looking back I guess it hindered my growth but luckily my passion still carried me past the frustration. When covid hit and we having to be locked down and up until 2022 I did my biggest growth spurt I guess as a pixel artist I tried doing some freelancing for indie game devs and the such but it was very annoying and didn't pay as much as I expected so I sat back to myself and that's when I realized that I was trying to rush the process. I gave up trying to monetize my immature art and focused on making art that I like I thought that once my art matures, money opportunities will come to me naturally, and once it happens that would be money I earned for real.. I realized that what comes naturally comes to stay and what we chase won't stick around for too long Since then I become much more confident regularly posting stuff that sometimes gets some attention and sometimes it doesn't but I for sure love every piece of my creations now no matter how small or insignificant it is for other people My growth is constant and steady and I feel like I'm becoming some sort of a walking pixel art encyclopedia which I believe is a form of wealth in and of itself.. Another thing I want to add because for some reason this thought occurred to me while watching your video although it might be completely unrelated I heard my brain say "you have to love both the crazy and the civilized sides of a person to say that you love them" I think it was about when you mentioned bipolar disorder that brought that up or whatever anyways I felt like I had to share that I mean I guess it's not exactly unrelated because recently I like to think of projects, dreams, people and so on in term of trees (hence my picture) I guess love is the secret ingredient after all and when we love a project or a person it's like we breathe life in it and help it grow while complaining about it not being what exactly like we want drains it I thinking love is really the lesson we have all come to learn and that's how we breathe life in what we want to grow ... Thank you so much for bringing these words out of me, they probably wouldn't have occured to me if I didn't watch your video Huge fan now, gonna be following and supporting you closely I wonder if we can stay in touch, who knows maybe collaborate on something.. grow a tree or whatever haha
I had the same reaction as you when I found my why. I cried and regretted, why did I let go of my passion? I've always excelled in academics, but I also felt empty. Uknowingly, I was chasing validation from society, and I was jealous of people who were passionate. During the pandemic I tried to know who I really was to keep myself from going into depression, then I watched a youtube video, and he said "What did you love doing when you were a kid? that's your passion." It might seem exaggerated to others, but it felt like my world crumbled and was rebuilt at the same time. All my life, I've chased after money, achievements, and material things just to prove something because I had nothing. Then all of that became worthless when I started doing art, and Im proud to say it is my passion and I am an artist. I draw everyday and they are the calmest and happiest times of my life. No one in my family understands, and that's okay, even I don't understand it myself. My purpose is to draw even If I don't get money from it. I hope everyone can do what they love, even if it's only an hour or two everyday. Don't ever let anyone, society, your family, your friends, tell you it's a waste of time. If it becomes unbearable, get out of that environment and join others who support you. From now on, I won't live a life I will regret, and I hope you do too.
This was such a lovely video! Thank you for sharing. It's true that the 'need' to create and share is what draws us to art - it's just growing up and needing money that can take us away from that important message
Even If you make money from your art those specific projects that make money likely won't be the ones that fulfill you. You will probably always feel more fulfilment and enjoyment from the creative projects you do just for youself. So i don't think there is anything wrong with creating just for yourself, because its something that you enjoy. You are a creative, it's part of who you are.
Ahh this has been something my partner and I have been talking about a lot. We work together on our art, I also work a day job and she freelances. It’s so hard in America too, with the cost of living being extreme and the current climate of existing being dire. I think what makes it such an uphill battle for creatives and artists is that we’re constantly undervalued, we aren’t given a modicum of respect for being brave enough to express ourselves honestly in a language only those in the know understand. We’ve been very much like “fuck that noise,” but in going against the eyes looking down on you, it’s challenging. I think what you said and set out to do did exactly what you intended-it really helped us feel seen and understood in a landscape where we have to struggle so much to prove what we are doing is worthwhile. I look forward to more videos, they’re such a comfort and so insightful. You’re doing amazing ❤
Im a aspiring writer who is leaving his job as a janitor to pursue my art fulltime. Your quote hit me pretty hard because I just feel that urgency as well. I have never felt more in love with anything other than writing. Its basically my why for living. And yes I know I wont that much from it at first. But once I have a catalog of books it will make money, or have a greater chance of making money. I cant squander my gift anymore. With each year that passes and there is no book written I think, man, I could finished this many books in that time. So its pressing. I kind of see my craft now like one of those Japanese Artisan, so dedicated to their craft that there is no other way. Yes, I wont be making as much money as other members of my family, but I know, I know, I will be happy. And maybe that will mean I need less in my life. Thank you Rini.
I journaled 4 pages in my diary answering the questions you suggested in this video, and it was really helpful for me 🥰 Sometimes, as a rising creator, it can feel like cope when I think, “I don’t care about the numbers, I just want to create for fun and to share my work others!” But through my journaling I actually realized that no, that thought process isn’t cope. I 100% mean it when I say “I’d rather be an unknown, “small potatoes” creator forever than compromise my characters or ideas for popularity.” It’s taken a loooooong time for me to admit that to myself, but it’s true. For whatever reason, all before I preferred to think that I was just lazy or too cowardly to make the sacrifices necessary to ‘make it’, but it turns out I’m just stubborn and principled! 🤣🤣 Thank you so much for sharing these vulnerable thoughts with us other ‘not making any money’ artists out here. 🙂 I think it’s important to remember that a lot of people who “make it” lament the times before they had all the pressures of popularity hanging over them, so let’s appreciate the positives of being ‘small potatoes’ while we can! 🥰
Thanks for giving us insight into your motivation for creating art. When i think about the purpose of my art, i wonder if i will continue to do it even if no one will see it. Sometimes, the answer is probably no, but right now, i think i might continue doing it since it's also an instrument of self-expression and exploration. Have you listened to the video talks from Adam Duff ? He discusses different topics regarding art as a career. A topic relevant to what you discussed was about the distinction between making art as an artist and making art for work, which he regards as more of a design job than art. I also find solace in his sentiment that being an artist isn't dependent on your financial gain from art or whether you decided to pursue it professionally or not. I wish you luck at completing this project. It's difficult, but you already made steps that many, me included, find hard to take.
That’s how I feel when it comes to RUclips and creating content, I love making vlogs and sharing my life in Japan even though I barely make any money, all the love I get is what keeps me going 🥺 it’s hard but do what you love as long as you love doing it! You can still quit once you don’t enjoy it anymore 💖
I love your story. I can related so much as i am a beginner in art. I start a year ago but it is a journey for real. I never thought of learning art from scratch will cost me life. There are a lot of night and day of self hattered because it is so hard to self thought. But this year i find a reason to push myself harder. I clarified my focus from to make money to want the skill. I need a year to realised if i didn't want to learn little thing i will never get the result. Thus, now it is me learning art to become skillful in art. It takes a lot of listening and reading but answer really comes from place i never thought. Truly the day i decide to learn art i never regret.
Hi Rini, thank you for sharing your struggles and your why with us. Listening to you helped me to feel connected and less alone with my own struggles. Wish you can keep allowing yourself to enjoy your art, whatever the outcome 💜✨
Interesting introspection! I believe that art needs to be done just because you love it, We don't always need a reason, just enjoy it, flow with it, feel it! And if you want art to be a be career...hey! Don't beat yourself up! Take it easy, learn what you need to, practice as much you can and enjoy the ride! 🌟
Your thoughts and feelings are very relatable. I started my full time art journey 4-5 years ago and for the first 2 years I struggled so hard with the same mindset. That I can't be an artist if I don't make any money from my art. I had to go through a rather painful :)) transformation to come to the conclusion that success to me is a happy life. Of course I want to make money from my art, it's natural, but that's not my reason for making art. I think I will be asking myself why I make my art, even though many people told me subtly that it won't make me money 😅, for the rest of my life I think. As I change as a person and become more myself, I discover a new layer to my whys. But one reason that will never change is that I just don't know what else to do. It's the thing that calls me, like a siren's song. I think about art all the time. The ideas keep coming, my style keeps evolving, there's no way I can get to the bottom of it :)). There's no other activity that keeps me so invested all the time. The gift that keeps on giving, or something like that the saying goes :)). Thank you for sharing these thoughts with us!
I'm on my way trying to make a living from my blog. Somehow I resonate with your story. If you prefer have 9 to 5 for stability and do art as a side hustle that calm your soul, then go for it ❤
Hi Rini! I am a follower of yours, I am 27 years old artist and a writer. I have made some money from my art/writing before but it never grew much and the Pandemic killed whatever income I had from it. I lost hope for a little bit and even stopped making art/writing actively, but I kept coming back to making some RUclips videos and am focusing on that now. It's my creative outlet that doesn't make money (yet), but I am enjoying doing RUclips and sharing my insights, artwork or character designs, some writing ideas through this outlet helps. I am starting my second year of uni on Tuesday and hope that this little outlet of making videos will help me get through another school year. :)
Really resonated with your point at 9:00 -- I went back to school for a different career because the art path didn't end up where I had hoped. I ended up taking a step back, and had to face reality. I'm really lucky to have the support, both emotionally and financially, from my family and partner that allowed me to go down the art path in the first place. But it didn't sit well with me for them to have additional financial burden (as in, I wasn't able to contribute financially), hence the career switch. I still do art on the side, but obviously not as much time as I would have liked. (9:20) this is exactly what I'm trying to achieve with the career switch/stable job. In a sense, I'm making money so that I can freely keep doing what I really love instead. That should've been my first thought, but younger me was naive and way too hopeful. Not to discourage anyone who wants to take the direct path though! It just didn't work out for me. In hindsight, I should've chosen a career that would have supported my hobby, and from there, I could have worked towards building my art career up, free from financial burdens.
I have times when my life feels too chaotic to be creative and it leads to long periods of not working on anything cool. But you get this sense of something burning away in the back of your head. I have become depressed over it before and left jobs because it felt like I was running out of time. I definitely experience waves of determination and have had to work at not giving up many times. I will sometimes go back and look at my drawings from when I was a kid and that version of my creativity makes me remember it's still worth it. My kid brain wasn't worried about so many things and I was just enjoying art inside a perfect space of inspiration, practice, confidence and personal enjoyment. That space is where I try to be.
20:53 I know exactly how that feels. On twitter my art gets 0 likes, on Instagram maybe somewhere between 4-10 likes. So far, I get the most amount of likes on Reddit, however, I've come to realize that I don't even care about the likes, retweets, shares, etc. I just like making art, so I post it not worrying about how much attention it gets. I don't even care about the validation or the expected profit and followers that might come from it, I just like creating, so I create. I always suffer through the sketching and coloring phase even doubting if I know how to draw, but I end up creating exactly what I wanted to... Every. Single. Time, lol. It fuels my urge get on with the next drawing(s) or painting(s).
I'm still young and i am really passionate about making art and i sometimes also have fears about how difficult the creative industries may be, especially money. And although so many of my teachers have said do what your heart desires i still worry abt how art will path my way in life. Seeing you videos gives me hope that it's never too late, and even if it doesn't work out as you wished sometimes it will someday, since we all have different goals in our mind. For me i think art is about creation, the idea of creating anything seems scary almost, but if you can create something then it must mean it's a space that can be filled right? And like u mentioned in the video creating for others, sometimes, it's so easy to just get mesmorised in these fictional creations of art. Art just leaves its readers, observers, listeners this feeling that can never be truly understood sometimes. ill also say i believe nothing you have done is a waste of hardwork etc as long as you did it, becasue you want to. And i think that quote really does hit hard, maybe if we all wrote and told more, we could all have easier paths. I am very inspired by your journey and i wish you the best of luck on ur journey.
Hustle culture really is exhausting and a constant struggle, because our brains make us think we should gain something from everything we do. We don't have to, though.
Doing art is food for the soul, its funny cause the more money I have the less art I do lol. Then I ask myself why I'm not doing what I love? Then I feel sad about it and create again haha
People are sexist and odd, the way they constantly will claim a woman is "manic" whenever she becomes very dedicated to something or is extremely happy about an event, like we aren't allowed to be passionate about projects or have strong emotions without being classified as mentally ill. You didn't owe anyone an explanation!
thank you so much for sharing this honestly need to hear it from someone, I'm in the middle of trying to make my art career happen and I really hope one day i could also at least be able to pay my rent from my craft
Another brave and vulnerable video, and definitely one that I can relate to. Art has always been my number one passion, and the notion of success is one that plagues us - am I an artist if I don't get paid? Being a true artist is a condition, we don't have a choice in it. There are plenty of 'successful' artists making lots of money with nothing to say. They don't feel angst or doubt, they don't wrestle with the grander themes of which you speak. They're just churning out product to order - they're not my definition of an artist. Years ago, after graduating, I had a studio and an exhibition deadline for my first solo show. Worked flat out for a year, hung my work...and at the last minute didn't put my name up. Tons of people came to the opening night...and I was nowhere to be seen. Hundreds of missed calls and messages...and never exhibited again. then ceased to paint for ten years, as I tried to fit into 'normal' life - it made me ill. I do paint now, I realised I have to, just as you have to. As I said earlier, being an artist is a condition, and the only way to treat it is by creating. I could care less about external validation, or monetary reward - the art is it's own reward. Ps, I also found Alan Watts a reassuring voice of reason during times of doubt. Thank you for posting your videos - it's both generous and brave.
Hi nathan!! Thank you so much for listening to my thoughts and experiences and for your comment ヽ(；▽；)ノ💕 I love what you’ve written here - “being an artist is a condition”. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. That feeling you felt after having not created anything for 10 years, I can only begin to imagine. I think it’s so important that no matter what - no matter whether we are able to make money from our art, no matter if our art is well received - that we continue to create to nourish our creative souls. “The art is its own reward” - what a wonderful way to think about it. Thank you so much again ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡
@@Riniapple you're more than welcome. I admire your honesty and your bravery - it's inspiring. I look forward to more of your videos, and especially your work.
The statement "my workhard is paid off" never happened in me. A ton of hardworking werent paid off as 7 years worker. Not only professional career, but my side job also not good right now. From my 7 years experience, I think successful comes with variation. And some of people success even without hardworking. Even I am not success, I am honest. You have the talent of drawing. Graduated in other degree which not require drawing skill and you can draw well (i could notice your drawing style) means you are very talented 😊
Hey Rini! New follower here ^^ Just wanted to say that as someone who just started drawing again after 3 years, and have been always dealing with similar struggles, this video resonated so much with me. I suppose sometimes it's so easy for us to forget why we started this journey... Anyways, thank you so much for sharing!
I'm not a proscriptivist, so I would never say this definition is "right," but to me when most people say "successful artist" they mean in a commercial sense. if being a successful artist in that sense doesn't necessarily align with your goals, you could simply say "yeah, I'm not a successful artist, and that's okay." for another philosophical quote, Nietzsche said, "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how." wish you all the best in your artistic endeavors.
Hey I saw your work and it looks absolutely beautiful! Is there any chance of getting a job that you can multitask on? Like a security gate keeper on a desk where you can draw while getting paid by hour to sustain yourself and do art on the side? Maybe having a Paetron, RUclips Membership or starting a Kickstarter or go fund me for the comic? Selling prints with your art, doing live streams to receive donations. There must be a way to make this work. I believe in you, don't stop creating cause it hurts, we artists need that soul food to feel happy!
Its not that deep, thats life, good and bad moments, fear and happines. just keep going, is never too late to change and try to be happy. My english sucks haha
I think she already uploaded another video somewhere, showing her everyday life routine. She actually has a day job so that’s her primary source of income. Looking at what she uses to make art though, a lot of them are paid stuff. So, if she had been a full time artist, then she would be operating at a loss. Fortunately, she’s using her paycheck to fund her hobby. If art is her sole hobby, she actually isn’t spending that much. Just a couple bucks here for Clip Studio Paint subscription and maybe a couple bucks more for special models. Procreate is already paid for. The iPad and stylus are probably paid for too. What is time consuming is the fact that she actually hand letters the speech bubbles. Personally, I think hobbies cost money. And lots of people don’t expect a return on the hobbies. The hobby just provides some fun in life. And lots of people are simply not qualified to turn a hobby into a career because a job usually means working for someone else and getting approval from them. And some people are willing to do that - make art for other people.
It’s a tough thing that I figure a lot of us deal with; you start making art because you love to make it. Then life hits and you have to make money. The choices are either make money with your art or get a day job that takes away most of your time. Because you want to have time to make art, suddenly you get all wrapped up in making money from art, and its easy to think then that you are only successful as an artist if you make good money from it. We all kind of disagree with that in our hearts, but it is very tough to get out of that mindset.
You create art because you want to. You don't need anymore reason than that especially for something you do on your free time. Some people hike, some people play video games, you do art. why do we need to justify anything we do on our free time?
Friction is why
100
As a 25 year person who very recently realized that wants to be an Illustrator after being drawing as a hobby for a couple years, I appreciate how honest you are during these videos.
It honestly feels kind of refreshing to see someone be open like this, sharing your highs and lows.
For artists the ups and downs can hit very hard, since many of the things we create or want to create can be personal for us. I was drawing while listening to this in the background, but decided to pause to write this because again, is nice to see someone being honest about these topics.
I hope you keep going and work in what you believe, I'll do the same, (well, I'll try and then lets see what happens).
I turned 25 years old this year and a lot of things changed in my life (financially, spiritually, and mentally) and one thing I learned was that it's really important to put yourself and your aspirations first. Of course there are exceptions, but once I started to value myself and what it is that I truly wanted to pursue, I felt a huge weight fall off my shoulders. I am wishing you the absolute best for your project and I hope you continue to make many more.
My hobby is dancing, exactly doing dance covers, and at some point, I thought why I was doing it, because I didn't get any money or followers etc. And it made me quite depressed and I stopped doing it at all. I was really concentrated only on fame and attention. But time passed, and I have realized that I just like doing it. It can fulfill me. It is what can make me happy. Now, I dance again and I want to improve my skills, I spend a few hours for learning it, for recording, for editing, but the main thing is that I am not waiting for any attention back, it is my choice to spend my time for it, it makes me happy and I want to be better. This is enough reason for doing it. And it's easier.
Hi Rini, I am a new follower of yours. I just want to commend you for being so open. the video feels like a really good intimate moment between friends! I'm 25 and I finally realized that making comics is my passion, but it took me ten years to figure that out. Lots of trial and error, and then finally making money on something that i wasn't passionate about made me realize what I really wanted to be making. Keep going!! Life has so many ups and downs, and for creative people the highs are so high and the lows are so so low.
Hii brittanie!! Thank you so much for your comment and for following me on my journey ヽ(；▽；)ノ❤ I’m glad you’ve been enjoying my videos!
You’re right - being an artist is not easy (especially in this day and age) and you’re totally right about how the lows can sometimes be *so low* and the highs be *so high*. I think being an artist is always going to come with a lot of trial and error (x_x;;) which can feel super frustrating at times. But somehow, I feel like that’s what being an artist is kind of all about ( ´ ▽ ` ) Discovering yourself and your creative voice and sharing your creative discoveries with the world. Thank you so much again!! Wishing you all the best on your creative journey- from one artist to another ❤
Hi! Don’t know if you’ll get the chance to read this, but I kid you not when I say I started watching this video right after experiencing negative feelings about my art, very similar to what you were describing. Taking long breaks from art and trying to come back to it is a suchhh difficult thing, and I never realized until recently just how much it affected my progress. I have always dreamed of being a full-time artist for many “whys”: to bring other people joy, to be able to make a living off of it, to create a visual of the world in the perspective of my reality. But it can be so discouraging when sometimes life isn’t in your favor, and you realize those dreams may be much harder to achieve…. And then I watched this video, and it’s like I all of a sudden remembered that I can’t lose sight of why I truly wanted to make art, very simply put, because I have enjoyed it my entire life. It’s a way to relieve my stress, it brings me so much joy to see my creations come to life, it is my passion, and I seem to forget that too often nowadays.
“I make what I make to help others feel less alone”.. well let me tell you that you’ve already accomplished this. Those “others” are me, and anyone else in the comments who have been where you are. Its part of the reason why I value RUclips as a digital platform over anywhere else for artists - I feel like I got the chance to know you on a deeper level, not in a parasocial-y type of way, but in a way that truly allows me to see and RELATE to the artist experience in your truest, purest way, no editing included!! I wish more artists I look up to could do the same, but I also understand all too well the pressures of keeping up a perfect image. I subscribed to you not just because I think your art is just adorable, but because I feel like with your words and putting yourself out there you’ve brought even more value to yourself and your art, and just know that whenever you’re in a rut again (because life is unfortunately filled with ups and downs!!), you should be proud of yourself, at least for the many, many people you’ve touched and influenced. I’m rooting for you Rini, and I seriously can’t wait to read your webtoon one day!!! 🥰🩷
I've been a silent watcher for a few days, but I officially subscribed today after watching this video. I relate so much with what you're saying. I, for a long time, struggled with balancing my joy of creating art/comics and wanting to profit from it. It came to the point where my want to profit from it outweighed the joy, and in turn, found myself in this headspace where I couldnt find the motivation to create anymore because I was constantly comparing myself to others who were effortlessly living the art life I'd strived for years to obtain, and I'd barely made a dent in my own progress to reach that same goal. For a few months I've been inching my way back into drawing but it's still an internal battle. I'm slowly pushing through it though to rekindle that fire that was once there. Good thing is that I've recognized the issue...I just need to put love & patience back into the equation to keep myself grounded. Easier said than done, but it's a must😅. You keep at your craft, don't lose sight of what makes you an artist and why you love doing it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us❤
Hii symmage! (´• ᴗ •̥`✿) Thank you so much for subbing and for your thoughtful comment! I'm so happy to hear that you've also had some recent realizations about your artistic practice and are slowly trying to heal and rekindle your fire. It's such a struggle to separate monetization from art (>.
I've just found your channel and I'm so happy for doing so. Almost the same things happened to me and a time came where I left art for 1 to 2 years because it didn't bring me money so I thought it was a waste of my time, but from time to time I'd still do some doodles... I still loved making art.
something happened and I came back to drawing again, this time with more love. I still realise that I need to make money and survive and art isn't gonna do it for me (I think so?)
even if it does, I don't want to feel stressed out when drawing, I just wanna feel joy, peace, happiness and creative. If I had to,
I'll push myself and work hard in order to work a job that earns me money and draw in the same time.. I really appreciate your hard work and thoughts!!
Thank you. When you started reading the watts quote it started hitting me really hard. The most fulfilling moments I've had as an artist are completing projects centered around something deeply meaningful. Pet portraits, therapy pieces allowing me to deal with whatever is on my mind, anything going back to soul connection and overall connection between lives has brought me the most meaning and purpose in my art. Money is what we need to get through this life unfortunately as artists. It's hard but love, understanding, depth and connection is what I've found I continue to push for and why I am here.
ART (creativity) mind
heART (love) body
eARTh (life) soul
Hi, I’m Kavl, I am a PhD social scientist who left academia just 2 years in to follow my calling to turn my art and designs into products. I never wanted to sell my illustrations but creating a creative business and selling art itself is very difficult - kudos to you for taking this leap. Just focus on RUclips and keep making art ❤
My version of success is to be able to live your life where you spend most of it in flow state in the creation of art without worrying about money.
i'm a musician and guitarist, even though i come from a different art form i subbed to you because you we're so similar to me.
i appreciate your honest open diary video and showed your true self, the highs and lows of being an artist that wants to create something from within.
i first heard your story from one of your most popular uploads about being a full time creator and it terrified me that we kinda has a similar mindset.
few years ago i quit from my band playing live shows in australia, then even enrolled in a random accounting degree because i thought it would somehow help me financially (kind of what you did). like thinking more about the monetary aspects of art and music made me repulsed because i don't want to feel forced to create something.
it made me distant myself from music all together, not even touching my guitar for a long long time. just working at random jobs from supermarkets and warehouses. my passion faded away because of life's burden and responsibilities.
making art has to be separated from a job that made money because i didn't want my art to have monetary measures.
i also had this all or nothing mentality, black and white. No grey zone at all.
for a good solid 4 years i just worked random jobs and saved money (levelling up my financial literacy and business mindset)
and now i'm circling back again to music. because playing guitar has always been a source of ultimate flow state in my life.
remember when we were kids? we just did things just because we are curious.
we didn't question it, critique it or analyse if it can make money lol.
we create for the sake of creation, exploring for the sake of adventure.
i'm going to start leaning on music and guitar playing again and i'm going to make a new channel to revive my passion for guitar playing!
keep on going riniapple, our true path has no prescribed roadmap.
we have to keep on going to actualise our own unique potential.
because i believe if we succumb to be like everyone else, it will be much more painful.
if we pick that normal path we will wake up one day at 65 years old and will be crushed by the weight of our regret that we didn't try at all.
the most common regret of old people is "i wish i lived a life true to myself and taken more risks"
because the biggest risk is no risk at all.
thanks for the vid!
As someone making games from a family that expected me to be a software developer, I can relate to your feelings towards art a lot. There's a strong insecurity about whether or not our work is meaningful, productive, and profitable. I ebb and flow between those worries; sometimes they all subside; sometimes they all inflame at once. I struggle with accepting my art as it is, without judgments applied to it. I appreciate you sharing your experience and giving your insight into things :) Your authenticity and often unedited talks are always comforting and insightful.
The final sentence of the quote, "maybe you're one of the lucky ones who don't have to," resonates with me deeply. I worked on a project with a friend who thought he always wanted to make games. Then he worked on it and realized he didn't like working on games. So he simply stopped. Last year was the first year since I was a teen that I didn't create anything and I became a shell. I wasn't sad, it didn't eat at me; I just forgot about it. I got lost in the work and unknowingly started disassociating. I realized I could give up on creating and life would go on. But a part of me would fade away. I'm not one of the lucky ones who can "stop writing", as it were. I have to create.
I think a successful artist is one who is capable of bringing concepts in their mind to life, no matter how that is, and in doing so they resonate with some audience, big or small. I also think it's important to have continual expression of ideas without giving in (completely) to outside sources. But to contradict that, a successful artist also uses feedback to reform not only their work, but their concepts/feelings/ideas.
My "why" has reshaped a lot over the past year. I used to be obsessed with mechanics in games, and not really focused on the emotional side of creation. I enjoyed world building in D&D, making my friends laugh with my writing, but none of my reasons for creating were deep. Or at least, not emotionally deep. A major "why" for me in games has been (and still is) a desire to innovate games in directions I'm not seeing them be taken. But over the past year I've had some major family events that have affected me mentally and emotionally, reshaping my "why". I want to create something that conveys my emotions, ideas, and perspective as they are now. Both to create a time capsule of my life at this time and to resonate with people like me who could really use something meaningful to relate to. I also want to tell the stories of those around me who have been through some bad times. Now it feels like both my "why"s are combining to create something unique, I just need to be disciplined and execute on my ideas.
Sometimes my "why" is simple too. I am studying art when I can because I think it's important to be capable of conveying thoughts visually.
Awesome comment
Thank you for talking about it with us.. it such a warm and deep conversation..
Yes, if you love it, then you just have to do it.. and I love your illustrations!!
I remember having that realisation - that I couldn't choose to not be an artist, it was just this urge inside to create, but also share what I'd learnt to my younger self. The hard part is juggling that with finances etc. I'm still learning, but one thing that helped was to think about how I can serve others through my content and art. Create things that others value, give value to others and you might find yourself with the beginnings of a business.
Thanks for sharing, hope you can find more balance between art and work :)
Hi Rini, I'm not too much of a commenter-- especially on youtube-- but I just wanted to say something after watching a few of your videos! Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, I feel like you're letting us in on such an important part of yourself and it makes me feel like we're having a long conversation rather than just watching a video. Your voice is so soft and calming and the way you talk about things is so relaxing to me... I've been watching your videos little by little (almost as if to save them) and I look forward to watching a new one every day. It's almost as if time slows down when I sit and watch your videos and it gives me so much hope and courage to work on art. I also read your Follow Your Art webtoon after finding this channel and it was absolutely adorable, I loved everything about it. I cannot wait to see what you're working on next and I hope you'll continue to take us along on your journey whenever you feel comfortable doing so. I wish you nothing but the best and thank you for so many of your treasures with us. Also, please don't apologize for the video length! I cannot tell you how much I love that these are longer videos-- they let me sit down and relax. Have a nice day Rini!!
Thank you so much for making such honest videos. You have now idea how much they mean and how inspiring you are. I am so grateful. The internet is full of videos like "How I make 10k with my art" and it's just frustrating because it never really feels like the truth. I mean, it can be but.. no one has told a story like yours before and it's actually so similar to what I experience and feel. Like.. no my art isn't valued by the money it makes but.. the world reflects that you have to make money out of yourself to be worth something. And that's just a lie. So with that rambling being said: THANK YOU RINIAPPLE ♥ for being you.
I am among those who sat and listened to the entire video. I wish hugs can function virtualy.
I really appreciate your honesty and authenticity .
I really appreciate the time you put into something you care about whether it's art or other mediums. Your time on this earth is super precious and I love that you really want to expand your skill on art and as a fellow growing artist I can really relate to your struggle and I believe you will one day become bigger artist with a bigger audience as well.
ty for this reminder - keep leading with love, you have nothing to prove to anyone ❤️❤️❤️ this will be so helpful to so many people, thank you for sharing🥹 love you muahmuahmuah
So brave to share and being so authentic, just keep going maybe you are just on the surface of your real potential, and there is only one way to find out, you are awesome, keep going and find your ikigai, and save us from ourselves
I relate to a lot of what you said as an artist. I've been a little slumped in my own comic and your vid helped me feel a bit better 💗 you got this!
seeing your journey is genuinely still so inspiring as a young artist. i am so happy you are still so passionate despite life’s struggles. thank you for being so transparent!
Thank you for sharing i was feeling the same for finding a job in the future but all you says makes me think like you , you are an amazing person and a Great Artist.
I absolutely agree with you 100%. 😊 I've questioned myself a few weeks ago about if I truly want to create a business featuring my illustrations, books, and a few other possible interests. If I do, then why. I'm trying to figure out my own why, but the way you put your why it's essentially your art connects you to others. I feel my why is probably similar. I too have the impression of that a successful artist is one who makes lots of money from doing art. No thanks to always being told growing up, "Get good grades, go to college, and get good REAL money making job". 😅 As a spiritual person I also like inspirational quotes. I have a few quotes hanging up at my desk at work. I'll share 4 of them. These first 2 quotes were said by one of my favorite inspirational people from history, Walt Disney. 😊
"Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional."
"That's what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again."
The next quote is from another person from history, Abraham Lincoln.
"The best way to predict your future is to create it."
Last, but certainly not least, this inspirational quote was said by one of my favorite fictional/videogame characters of all time, Sonic the Hedgehog. ❤
"Nothing starts until you take action!"
I think that if I decide to try running a business for my creativity I'm not going to put pressure on myself. I'm not going to completely focus on the accumulating money part. I too have a full time job and I am grateful I have one. I would run my business for the purpose of connecting with others from all walks of life. I would make time for my creativity for both my business and myself because I know I've told you before, but I don't want to ever want to feel that emptiness again. I felt so lifeless. Now that I'm understanding that success is not set in stone, it's different for everyone, I feel I truly am getting closer to my why for why I do art of any kind I like to do for myself and for my possible future business. Regardless of what I decide to do I know I need to be gentle, patient, and loving towards myself as I take small, though manageable steps towards my future. Perhaps I can try waking up earlier (or at least when I'm supposed to during the week 😅) and take time for me after I get ready for work, but still have time before I leave for work. Then, on my days off I'll have LOTS of me time to myself before the family wakes up. For the passed two days I've actually woke up just before my first alarm and I truly enjoyed not having to rush in the morning. Thank you for the inspiration and being down-to-earth. ❤ I'll definitely give it a shot to get up earlier. I'm going to tell myself I WANT to get up earlier for me. Not because I HAVE to go to work for work or telling myself I NEED or SHOULD do it. 😊 It'll be something I'll look forward to, especially on my days off. I LOVE the silence. I'll look forward to more videos like these or any other ones you decide to make. Take care and keep up your art! ❤
Never stop creating, it's what we were made for.
Hi Rini, thank you for sharing and being so vulnerable with us (and me!). To me, you are a talented and unique artist and writer. The struggles you have had, and shared, resonate with me a lot especially recently as I too, am working full time in a very emotionally demanding profession. Creating nail art and drawing nail designs has been an outlet for me to get back to what I used to love and enjoy as a child, while also giving back to myself now as an adult in my 30s. As I start to create nail art and press on nails, the business and money side has crept in and given me doubts. However your video and the quote has helped reinforce, like you said, my 'why'. Thank you again for sharing. You've given me the encouraging push I need. ❤
Hang in there, the modern world is at war with artists. Make money elsewhere, live cheap, save up as much as you can and preserve art as your happy place. If your comics sell, that will be a huge bonus, but continue creating for you and don't stop feeding your creative spirit.
That's what I do anyway. It's frustrating that we can't all create fulltime and there is infinite space in boring mundane cubicles but it's good to have things to look forward to. One day.
I watched this yesterday while I was drawing and cried so much. I'm so glad you decided to share this. I think pursuing art we have to face these questions eventually. I hope we can all make it through. Our hunger for art won't go away in a capitalist world and that's kind of beautiful I think. It's reassuring to know there are so many of us here. Wishing you all the strength 🩷 your art is full of love just like you
Asking those big serious questions that give me anxiety. I appreciate ypu sharing this even if it makes me uncomfortable.
Thank you for reminding all of us why we find home in creation. I hope I get to meet you someday and thank you again. You are one of my new favorites, and you inspire us to be our genuine selves, and to bare our souls through our craft
My biggest motivator throughout the years has mostly been spite (that's why I love Rini's work and attitude as it's diametrically opposed to mine.) Something that always pushes me to keep doing something and doing it better is being told "no". I take it as a challenge. And it eventually started to work on my early 30's (I'm almost 40 but it doesn't have to take THAT long for everyone, but it is tho a statement of never giving up, even when you give up, as dumb as that sounds.) Right now I'm living of my work. All those years of stubborn-headed pushing along paid off as in people noticing my strengths and hiring me for them. And then my personal work started to become better and people are now noticing it too. Both them and me figured out I had something to say and share through my comics.
There isn't one set path to do things that works for everyone. We all have out motivators to just keep moving. It can be as magical and inspirational as finding a quote that just hits you exactly in the right way at the right time. Or it can be as brash as "Oh, I can't? F*ck you, watch me then!" But find it. Find what it is that gets you going and hold to it forever. You'll be happier for it.
I somehow I relate to this...i had the same experience like u- quit my job coz I'm not happy & so stress with the exploitive work culture here in my country(Asia). I always question myself "is my art not good enough? " is my artstyle not eyecatchy? Whenevr I scroll on insta I get different emotions looking at those accounts that dont even put effort in their content & art but had enormous following....i even saw an art account with a stick figure 😭 sometimes its just frustrating...
I just want to say ur not alone, and I think ur art is delicate & beautiful. I hope artist like us whose lost find our way.
this was a very refreshing video. in today's world, we are conditioned to think we must have a profit to enjoy. art can have a lot of benefits, but it is always for the soul first. sometimes, life gets tough and we forget it along the way.
Thank you for sharing! I remember seeing your work on Instagram and thinking how good your art was. All the best on your art journey! ❤️
Thank you for sharing your earnest thoughts around this - I watched this at just the right time...we do ourselves a disservice as human beings by denying our own creative urges. I really admire who put themselves out there, connect with others, and build community - which is what you're doing here
Me again. Thank you again for sharing something so personal. I absolutely KNOW that there are other people out there feeling and experiencing the difficulties and maybe even shame that comes with feeling like a failure/having no success creatively monetary wise because I am one of those people. I struggle so often with every thought and point you've laid out on this video but you're not alone and unfortunately there's no answer that can give us freedom from these anxieties but rather we have to go with the flow while trying to carve our own path. A bit of an oxymoron but constantly fighting these emotions is tiring and you end up burning yourself out, lose passion and find yourself back in that pit of "Am I good enough"
Your work is great and you can see the effort you put in to it too, unfortunately like you said not everyone gets validation in the form of money and that's a big deal when your livelihood is tied to money. These words can never make up for your own dreams but hopefully bring comfort
Aww, what a lovely video -- thank you so much for sharing this one! Really love the raw-ness and the format of this.
You bring up some great questions that artists probably struggle with throughout their journey. I definitely relate to your sort of existential need to create. I haven't ever earned money from my art, but I paint more than anything else in my life I haven't gone a day without painting in around 6 years. I know when I had typical life challenges' that took away time from painting, it dramatically lowered my overall happiness with life.
As for my *why*, I've thought about it before and believe I've come to the conclusion that I just love the act of painting, and even if I were financially secure enough that I didn't need to work a normal job and didn't feel any need to make money with my art, I'd still spend all my time painting. I can't imagine doing anything else with my time. The only thing that has ever come close to "replacing" that existential need to create is meditation. I've strongly considered becoming a Buddhist monk or a going down a similar path like doing an extended solitary meditation retreat -- which, on that note, I loved that you brought up Eastern philosophy/spirituality and Alan Watts, which are two things I've become more acquainted with the past few years.
Anyway, once again, I loved this video (and all of your videos tbh)!
this really spoke to me. i think it's important to be able to make art for your own wellbeing (or rather art for the sake of it) instead of under duress (hopes of it paying off). and yet here i am, pointlessly plodding along, dreaming about making things and failing to follow through on anything substantial
Your reaction to reading us the quote seem to truly activate and touch the core of your being. A truly powerful experience and it reminds me of how I felt when I decided to pursue music through singing and piano. There's message, emotion, experience we MUST put out into the universe.
If I have learned anything about being an artist all these years, is that true art is not about success or money. True art is about connection, and honesty. It's about the friends we make along the way, no matter how cheesy this may sound. And you have succeed in doing that. Congratulations! Your message truly touched and inspired me. And in the same way I'll be working to inspire others. Have a great weekend and an amazing existence!
Your very réaction to that quote, speaks so much on your why. It's a damn good quote, and even though we're at different stages in our life, it still resonated with me. Thank you for sharing and being vulnerable! It helps all of us. Please keep following what makes you happy, it's worthy of your time.
7:28 It's a classic issue and I definitely fall into it. When I was early in high school I learned programming on my own and really enjoyed it. Quickly decided I'll just do that as a job. In university I had a ton of fun learning theory, math, etc., then had an internship at Big Tech Co and... I don't like this! I still enjoyed school, but programming is truly just a job for me now, which I'm still thankful to have. Nowadays I've found plenty of joy in other hobbies-gardening for wildlife brings me the most and I've signed up to volunteer in a related organization-but I don't think I'll really enjoy programming for its own sake ever again, at least until I stop making money from it.
Thank you for the lovely video!
One of the things that makes an Instagram account successful or with good traffic is consistency in style, but my art style has never settled down to something that I am 100% satisfied with. Then, I started to question why I was making art. I needed a theme that I could settle down with. So, that made me question why I am drawing, and what art meant to me. It made me realize how empty my art was. All along, I was drawing for the sake of being liked, for external validation. I notice that it is impossible to separate art and external validation because art needs an audience if you want food on the table and a roof over your head through art. When you are the type that creates art from the soul, the realization crushes you deeply.
My conclusion to all this ordeal is that external validation requires a balance with internal validation. We need to repeatedly remind ourselves of the values we keep, and our reasons to continue and to grow. We all have a fear of failure and fear of disappointment. Money seems to be an unfortunate way of quantifying what success is. Indeed, we can just do whatever we want in art. However, most of the things in reality are not black and white. They don't have to be either/or. It can be both. And you have to allow yourself both if you truly want to spend a lot of time in art. You need to find the balance in everything you do. And when you do that, the right audience will find you. This is what I truly believe and hope. We all work for free at first, so let your art have the time to reach the right people.
"Critical thinking without hope is cynicism. Hope without critical thinking is naivete." - Maria Popova
Thank you so much for making this video (and all your other videos as well). They all feel so unrushed and authentic, the opposite of most of what is found on the internet today. Even when I'm feeling unconfident or bogged down by the lack of monetisation, your videos make me want to continue to create. I guess they remind me of my 'why' the same way that quote does for you. It's a wonderful quote and I'm definitely going to write it down to remind me of what I'm doing it for. Thank you so much for sharing. I hope you continue to create and continue to love it. You are a successful artist to me.💛
Hi! Thank you for sharing. I think it's really brave of you to be so transparent. It sure takes a lot of guts to show your face and feelings on social media. I respect you and good luck for everything! Go woman!!
I was the same; I spent many years drawing without earning any income from it. But I was always happy with that. Fortunately, I work as a graphic designer, and sometimes I get to create illustrations for my designs. Drawing isn’t easy-many years of persistent practice and working in a visually creative field like graphic design have helped me make a living and improve my drawing skills. I also love design work, but turning a passion into a job with a lot of external pressure can diminish our love for it. I only started wanting to work full-time as an illustrator about a year ago, but I don’t want to turn it into a stressful job, so I chose to do RUclips, hoping that luck will smile upon me and help me make a living with this passion for drawing. Similarly, I wish you luck and success on your journey ❤! Keep going!
this video helps me to realize why I am doing art thank you. I find it really tough to keep doing art because I have seen a lot of friends quit doing art and that makes me sad little bit. The situation in art industry keeps getting worse and the question "why am I work so hard for art?" is really important for artists to decide if they should stay or leave. The reason why I am doing art is because I love anime and it give me good memories from my childhood, so I want to be someone who can give that experience to other people too. It makes me getting close to what I love. I love all of you artists stay strong.
8:06 the idea that if something doesn’t have monetary value it isn’t valuable is so rampant in our culture. It’s also totally wrong. We need to push back on this idea. It totally kills people’s joy in doing things they like.
That's the wholesome badassery quote I needed, needed to hear thank you!! That's the type of sense I look to, towards in a man, when I'm so male influenced, but don't know those specific, personal to me, male creatives.
At least I've been drawing and sharing currently on Cara, cause of my unlocked motivation and excitement from last year and building confidence with my art voice. At least it also feels I've been more easily coming to terms and can continue personally understanding and breaking down my unsureness in self and life. Cause I know I want my voice and to protect my happiness (inner child = sister, amongst others.)
Oh my god...
I just discovered your channel and wanted to know more about this good looking person in the thumbnail at first (sry if this might come up as rude but irl I'm blunt as f)
But then I was blown away by how on point the topics you brought up
I am personnally a university dropout due to financial pressure I had to work in the same time and then I couldn't keep up doing both things.
At the time it was a beginning of "feeling like a failure" period of my life and only many years later I understood that I was heavily not meeting my nutritive needs (for reference I weigh 55kgs and I'm 177 tall)
I have been struggling keeping up with really demanding underpaid jobs for a few years always aiming to be promoted or something and maybe finally start living like a normal human being should but that day never came
by 2017 I started realizing I was in a never ending cycle and felt like my life was slipping away
I thought "Khalil" you have to face it, you will never break free doing something for someone who doesn't even know you exist, do something you wanna pour your heart into and if that doesn't cut then you probably were never supposed to be born and that's it (I was 28 at that time)
So I looked back at my childhood, when I was at my happiest, I remembered how I was excited at old games and going to the arcades etc so I thought, "why not try pixel art?"
Surprisingly I was blown away at how approachable it was especially for someone who has no academic studies related to art, all it took for me was to try to copy a sprite of goku for all sorts of steps to start popping up in my head and I got better incredibly quick (by my own standards at least)
I was still trying hard because money was the reason I was trying to learn pixel art and looking back I guess it hindered my growth but luckily my passion still carried me past the frustration.
When covid hit and we having to be locked down and up until 2022 I did my biggest growth spurt I guess as a pixel artist
I tried doing some freelancing for indie game devs and the such but it was very annoying and didn't pay as much as I expected so I sat back to myself and that's when I realized that I was trying to rush the process.
I gave up trying to monetize my immature art and focused on making art that I like
I thought that once my art matures, money opportunities will come to me naturally, and once it happens that would be money I earned for real.. I realized that what comes naturally comes to stay and what we chase won't stick around for too long
Since then I become much more confident regularly posting stuff that sometimes gets some attention and sometimes it doesn't but I for sure love every piece of my creations now no matter how small or insignificant it is for other people
My growth is constant and steady and I feel like I'm becoming some sort of a walking pixel art encyclopedia which I believe is a form of wealth in and of itself..
Another thing I want to add because for some reason this thought occurred to me while watching your video although it might be completely unrelated
I heard my brain say "you have to love both the crazy and the civilized sides of a person to say that you love them" I think it was about when you mentioned bipolar disorder that brought that up or whatever anyways I felt like I had to share that
I mean I guess it's not exactly unrelated because recently I like to think of projects, dreams, people and so on in term of trees (hence my picture) I guess love is the secret ingredient after all and when we love a project or a person it's like we breathe life in it and help it grow while complaining about it not being what exactly like we want drains it
I thinking love is really the lesson we have all come to learn and that's how we breathe life in what we want to grow
...
Thank you so much for bringing these words out of me, they probably wouldn't have occured to me if I didn't watch your video
Huge fan now, gonna be following and supporting you closely
I wonder if we can stay in touch, who knows maybe collaborate on something.. grow a tree or whatever haha
I had the same reaction as you when I found my why. I cried and regretted, why did I let go of my passion? I've always excelled in academics, but I also felt empty. Uknowingly, I was chasing validation from society, and I was jealous of people who were passionate. During the pandemic I tried to know who I really was to keep myself from going into depression, then I watched a youtube video, and he said "What did you love doing when you were a kid? that's your passion." It might seem exaggerated to others, but it felt like my world crumbled and was rebuilt at the same time. All my life, I've chased after money, achievements, and material things just to prove something because I had nothing. Then all of that became worthless when I started doing art, and Im proud to say it is my passion and I am an artist. I draw everyday and they are the calmest and happiest times of my life. No one in my family understands, and that's okay, even I don't understand it myself. My purpose is to draw even If I don't get money from it. I hope everyone can do what they love, even if it's only an hour or two everyday. Don't ever let anyone, society, your family, your friends, tell you it's a waste of time. If it becomes unbearable, get out of that environment and join others who support you. From now on, I won't live a life I will regret, and I hope you do too.
This was such a lovely video! Thank you for sharing. It's true that the 'need' to create and share is what draws us to art - it's just growing up and needing money that can take us away from that important message
Even If you make money from your art those specific projects that make money likely won't be the ones that fulfill you. You will probably always feel more fulfilment and enjoyment from the creative projects you do just for youself. So i don't think there is anything wrong with creating just for yourself, because its something that you enjoy. You are a creative, it's part of who you are.
Ahh this has been something my partner and I have been talking about a lot. We work together on our art, I also work a day job and she freelances. It’s so hard in America too, with the cost of living being extreme and the current climate of existing being dire. I think what makes it such an uphill battle for creatives and artists is that we’re constantly undervalued, we aren’t given a modicum of respect for being brave enough to express ourselves honestly in a language only those in the know understand. We’ve been very much like “fuck that noise,” but in going against the eyes looking down on you, it’s challenging. I think what you said and set out to do did exactly what you intended-it really helped us feel seen and understood in a landscape where we have to struggle so much to prove what we are doing is worthwhile. I look forward to more videos, they’re such a comfort and so insightful. You’re doing amazing ❤
i love ur overall style and story omg i really cant wait to support heart on a steal canvas!
Thank you for sharing your sincere thoughts.
Im a aspiring writer who is leaving his job as a janitor to pursue my art fulltime. Your quote hit me pretty hard because I just feel that urgency as well. I have never felt more in love with anything other than writing. Its basically my why for living. And yes I know I wont that much from it at first. But once I have a catalog of books it will make money, or have a greater chance of making money. I cant squander my gift anymore. With each year that passes and there is no book written I think, man, I could finished this many books in that time. So its pressing. I kind of see my craft now like one of those Japanese Artisan, so dedicated to their craft that there is no other way. Yes, I wont be making as much money as other members of my family, but I know, I know, I will be happy. And maybe that will mean I need less in my life. Thank you Rini.
I journaled 4 pages in my diary answering the questions you suggested in this video, and it was really helpful for me 🥰
Sometimes, as a rising creator, it can feel like cope when I think, “I don’t care about the numbers, I just want to create for fun and to share my work others!” But through my journaling I actually realized that no, that thought process isn’t cope. I 100% mean it when I say “I’d rather be an unknown, “small potatoes” creator forever than compromise my characters or ideas for popularity.” It’s taken a loooooong time for me to admit that to myself, but it’s true. For whatever reason, all before I preferred to think that I was just lazy or too cowardly to make the sacrifices necessary to ‘make it’, but it turns out I’m just stubborn and principled! 🤣🤣
Thank you so much for sharing these vulnerable thoughts with us other ‘not making any money’ artists out here. 🙂 I think it’s important to remember that a lot of people who “make it” lament the times before they had all the pressures of popularity hanging over them, so let’s appreciate the positives of being ‘small potatoes’ while we can! 🥰
Thanks for giving us insight into your motivation for creating art. When i think about the purpose of my art, i wonder if i will continue to do it even if no one will see it. Sometimes, the answer is probably no, but right now, i think i might continue doing it since it's also an instrument of self-expression and exploration.
Have you listened to the video talks from Adam Duff ? He discusses different topics regarding art as a career. A topic relevant to what you discussed was about the distinction between making art as an artist and making art for work, which he regards as more of a design job than art. I also find solace in his sentiment that being an artist isn't dependent on your financial gain from art or whether you decided to pursue it professionally or not.
I wish you luck at completing this project. It's difficult, but you already made steps that many, me included, find hard to take.
That’s how I feel when it comes to RUclips and creating content, I love making vlogs and sharing my life in Japan even though I barely make any money, all the love I get is what keeps me going 🥺 it’s hard but do what you love as long as you love doing it! You can still quit once you don’t enjoy it anymore 💖
I love your story. I can related so much as i am a beginner in art. I start a year ago but it is a journey for real. I never thought of learning art from scratch will cost me life. There are a lot of night and day of self hattered because it is so hard to self thought. But this year i find a reason to push myself harder. I clarified my focus from to make money to want the skill. I need a year to realised if i didn't want to learn little thing i will never get the result. Thus, now it is me learning art to become skillful in art. It takes a lot of listening and reading but answer really comes from place i never thought. Truly the day i decide to learn art i never regret.
You just gotta keep at it and keep promoting yourself! I haven't made any money as of yet but, I just at it.
Hi Rini, thank you for sharing your struggles and your why with us. Listening to you helped me to feel connected and less alone with my own struggles. Wish you can keep allowing yourself to enjoy your art, whatever the outcome 💜✨
Interesting introspection! I believe that art needs to be done just because you love it, We don't always need a reason, just enjoy it, flow with it, feel it! And if you want art to be a be career...hey! Don't beat yourself up! Take it easy, learn what you need to, practice as much you can and enjoy the ride! 🌟
Your thoughts and feelings are very relatable. I started my full time art journey 4-5 years ago and for the first 2 years I struggled so hard with the same mindset. That I can't be an artist if I don't make any money from my art. I had to go through a rather painful :)) transformation to come to the conclusion that success to me is a happy life. Of course I want to make money from my art, it's natural, but that's not my reason for making art. I think I will be asking myself why I make my art, even though many people told me subtly that it won't make me money 😅, for the rest of my life I think. As I change as a person and become more myself, I discover a new layer to my whys. But one reason that will never change is that I just don't know what else to do. It's the thing that calls me, like a siren's song. I think about art all the time. The ideas keep coming, my style keeps evolving, there's no way I can get to the bottom of it :)). There's no other activity that keeps me so invested all the time. The gift that keeps on giving, or something like that the saying goes :)). Thank you for sharing these thoughts with us!
Went through an Alan watts phase a couple of years ago. Listened to his talks on RUclips on loop. Good stuff
I'm on my way trying to make a living from my blog. Somehow I resonate with your story. If you prefer have 9 to 5 for stability and do art as a side hustle that calm your soul, then go for it ❤
Hi Rini! I am a follower of yours, I am 27 years old artist and a writer. I have made some money from my art/writing before but it never grew much and the Pandemic killed whatever income I had from it. I lost hope for a little bit and even stopped making art/writing actively, but I kept coming back to making some RUclips videos and am focusing on that now. It's my creative outlet that doesn't make money (yet), but I am enjoying doing RUclips and sharing my insights, artwork or character designs, some writing ideas through this outlet helps. I am starting my second year of uni on Tuesday and hope that this little outlet of making videos will help me get through another school year. :)
I've recently found your channel. You´re a really strong and talented girl. Hope to see more of your work!
There's nothing bad about working hard on things that you believe in . Best of luck for the luck for the comic!
Thanks for sharing your insightful, vulnerable thoughts with us
Phenomenal authenticity. This video really came into my life when I needed it thank you ✨
@@writingwithdifficulty This makes me so happy to hear 🥹💕 Thank you for listening
Really resonated with your point at 9:00 -- I went back to school for a different career because the art path didn't end up where I had hoped.
I ended up taking a step back, and had to face reality. I'm really lucky to have the support, both emotionally and financially, from my family and partner that allowed me to go down the art path in the first place. But it didn't sit well with me for them to have additional financial burden (as in, I wasn't able to contribute financially), hence the career switch. I still do art on the side, but obviously not as much time as I would have liked.
(9:20) this is exactly what I'm trying to achieve with the career switch/stable job. In a sense, I'm making money so that I can freely keep doing what I really love instead. That should've been my first thought, but younger me was naive and way too hopeful.
Not to discourage anyone who wants to take the direct path though! It just didn't work out for me. In hindsight, I should've chosen a career that would have supported my hobby, and from there, I could have worked towards building my art career up, free from financial burdens.
I have times when my life feels too chaotic to be creative and it leads to long periods of not working on anything cool. But you get this sense of something burning away in the back of your head. I have become depressed over it before and left jobs because it felt like I was running out of time. I definitely experience waves of determination and have had to work at not giving up many times. I will sometimes go back and look at my drawings from when I was a kid and that version of my creativity makes me remember it's still worth it. My kid brain wasn't worried about so many things and I was just enjoying art inside a perfect space of inspiration, practice, confidence and personal enjoyment. That space is where I try to be.
20:53 I know exactly how that feels. On twitter my art gets 0 likes, on Instagram maybe somewhere between 4-10 likes. So far, I get the most amount of likes on Reddit, however, I've come to realize that I don't even care about the likes, retweets, shares, etc. I just like making art, so I post it not worrying about how much attention it gets. I don't even care about the validation or the expected profit and followers that might come from it, I just like creating, so I create. I always suffer through the sketching and coloring phase even doubting if I know how to draw, but I end up creating exactly what I wanted to... Every. Single. Time, lol. It fuels my urge get on with the next drawing(s) or painting(s).
As a daughter of single mother I can relate so hard and im so grateful and guilty for doing art as most of the time im not making money
thank you for sharing this with us I'm sure it wasn't always easy but there is always a reason. I Love seeing you grow! Keep going!
I'm still young and i am really passionate about making art and i sometimes also have fears about how difficult the creative industries may be, especially money. And although so many of my teachers have said do what your heart desires i still worry abt how art will path my way in life. Seeing you videos gives me hope that it's never too late, and even if it doesn't work out as you wished sometimes it will someday, since we all have different goals in our mind.
For me i think art is about creation, the idea of creating anything seems scary almost, but if you can create something then it must mean it's a space that can be filled right? And like u mentioned in the video creating for others, sometimes, it's so easy to just get mesmorised in these fictional creations of art. Art just leaves its readers, observers, listeners this feeling that can never be truly understood sometimes. ill also say i believe nothing you have done is a waste of hardwork etc as long as you did it, becasue you want to. And i think that quote really does hit hard, maybe if we all wrote and told more, we could all have easier paths.
I am very inspired by your journey and i wish you the best of luck on ur journey.
Hustle culture really is exhausting and a constant struggle, because our brains make us think we should gain something from everything we do. We don't have to, though.
Thank you for this video and sharing some vulnerable thoughts with us. It really got me thinking :)
Doing art is food for the soul, its funny cause the more money I have the less art I do lol. Then I ask myself why I'm not doing what I love? Then I feel sad about it and create again haha
People are sexist and odd, the way they constantly will claim a woman is "manic" whenever she becomes very dedicated to something or is extremely happy about an event, like we aren't allowed to be passionate about projects or have strong emotions without being classified as mentally ill. You didn't owe anyone an explanation!
thank you so much for sharing this honestly need to hear it from someone, I'm in the middle of trying to make my art career happen and I really hope one day i could also at least be able to pay my rent from my craft
Another brave and vulnerable video, and definitely one that I can relate to. Art has always been my number one passion, and the notion of success is one that plagues us - am I an artist if I don't get paid? Being a true artist is a condition, we don't have a choice in it. There are plenty of 'successful' artists making lots of money with nothing to say. They don't feel angst or doubt, they don't wrestle with the grander themes of which you speak. They're just churning out product to order - they're not my definition of an artist. Years ago, after graduating, I had a studio and an exhibition deadline for my first solo show. Worked flat out for a year, hung my work...and at the last minute didn't put my name up. Tons of people came to the opening night...and I was nowhere to be seen. Hundreds of missed calls and messages...and never exhibited again. then ceased to paint for ten years, as I tried to fit into 'normal' life - it made me ill. I do paint now, I realised I have to, just as you have to. As I said earlier, being an artist is a condition, and the only way to treat it is by creating. I could care less about external validation, or monetary reward - the art is it's own reward.
Ps, I also found Alan Watts a reassuring voice of reason during times of doubt. Thank you for posting your videos - it's both generous and brave.
Hi nathan!! Thank you so much for listening to my thoughts and experiences and for your comment ヽ(；▽；)ノ💕 I love what you’ve written here - “being an artist is a condition”. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. That feeling you felt after having not created anything for 10 years, I can only begin to imagine. I think it’s so important that no matter what - no matter whether we are able to make money from our art, no matter if our art is well received - that we continue to create to nourish our creative souls. “The art is its own reward” - what a wonderful way to think about it. Thank you so much again ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡
@@Riniapple you're more than welcome. I admire your honesty and your bravery - it's inspiring. I look forward to more of your videos, and especially your work.
i think you are proud about that because it's perfect your style ,work you are the best
You can do it !
The statement "my workhard is paid off" never happened in me. A ton of hardworking werent paid off as 7 years worker. Not only professional career, but my side job also not good right now.
From my 7 years experience, I think successful comes with variation. And some of people success even without hardworking.
Even I am not success, I am honest. You have the talent of drawing. Graduated in other degree which not require drawing skill and you can draw well (i could notice your drawing style) means you are very talented 😊
Thank you -- i really needed to hear this :) keep it up!
Hey Rini! New follower here ^^ Just wanted to say that as someone who just started drawing again after 3 years, and have been always dealing with similar struggles, this video resonated so much with me. I suppose sometimes it's so easy for us to forget why we started this journey... Anyways, thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you rini. your videos are very helpful..
I'm not a proscriptivist, so I would never say this definition is "right," but to me when most people say "successful artist" they mean in a commercial sense. if being a successful artist in that sense doesn't necessarily align with your goals, you could simply say "yeah, I'm not a successful artist, and that's okay." for another philosophical quote, Nietzsche said, "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how." wish you all the best in your artistic endeavors.
You helped me, thank you for sharing ❤️
ur unique and it was good btw. money is not all that matters
15:53 aaahhh, you're making me tear up! 😢
I love your videos and I admire your passion, I once worked in a webtoon company too, I've subscribed to your channel :)
Hey I saw your work and it looks absolutely beautiful! Is there any chance of getting a job that you can multitask on? Like a security gate keeper on a desk where you can draw while getting paid by hour to sustain yourself and do art on the side? Maybe having a Paetron, RUclips Membership or starting a Kickstarter or go fund me for the comic? Selling prints with your art, doing live streams to receive donations. There must be a way to make this work. I believe in you, don't stop creating cause it hurts, we artists need that soul food to feel happy!
This kind of video helps you and helps us
Its not that deep, thats life, good and bad moments, fear and happines. just keep going, is never too late to change and try to be happy.
My english sucks haha
I think she already uploaded another video somewhere, showing her everyday life routine. She actually has a day job so that’s her primary source of income.
Looking at what she uses to make art though, a lot of them are paid stuff. So, if she had been a full time artist, then she would be operating at a loss. Fortunately, she’s using her paycheck to fund her hobby. If art is her sole hobby, she actually isn’t spending that much. Just a couple bucks here for Clip Studio Paint subscription and maybe a couple bucks more for special models. Procreate is already paid for. The iPad and stylus are probably paid for too.
What is time consuming is the fact that she actually hand letters the speech bubbles.
Personally, I think hobbies cost money. And lots of people don’t expect a return on the hobbies. The hobby just provides some fun in life. And lots of people are simply not qualified to turn a hobby into a career because a job usually means working for someone else and getting approval from them. And some people are willing to do that - make art for other people.