Another reason for why I wanted to become a visual artist was to get out the ideas I had onto the internet, but in the year since I got a drawing tablet I've been able to express all of my ideas and have now run out of them.

The thing is I'm way too thin-skinned for critique ...

one of my goals is to be featured in one of the collabs that require you to be a talented animator

Then again, even if I was a talented animator and made it into one of these I feel like I still wouldn't be satisfied considering I've seen many people featured in these collabs who are younger than I am

When I was personally at some low points in my life, I'd typically say "What's the use, I'm not good at anything." And my friend would pipe up and mention "Ok sure, but have you tried everything?" You can argue how pedantic it is all you want but he's right. I can't realistically and truthfully say I'm terrible at everything without having literally tried everything. There are very few absolutes in life, but to be dismissive on very open things like ideas, skills, or talent, is bunk. You absolutely have ideas, everyone does, it's just consciously or unconsciously some don't think they are worth sharing.

Does anyone know if I can contribute to an NG collab in some way if I don't have any creative talents or passions? (Sketch Collab doesn't count because they let just about anyone in)I just want to make myself useful to this community, but in order to do that I need to be a "creative" of some sort.

Being present in the forums and reviewing projects in the portals is contributing to Newgrounds. Using the site is contributing to Newgrounds. If you're on the site, actively engaging with others, and provide courteous feedback, you are already apart of the community. 

So that's it? I'm just supposed to accept that I'll never have any kind of creative skill?

You asked if there were other options, so don't conflate alternatives as dismissing your other pursuits.

PewDiePie became better at drawing after 30 days of 10-20 minutes a day (5-10 collective hours) than I have after 3.5 years of ~1 hour a week (~182 collective hours); I feel like that's probably a sign of some sort and not a good one

Every time you work on a personal project you're setting a personal best. And when you get to the next project? You're breaking that previous one and setting another one. You are constantly learning and absorbing information whether you're consciously aware of it or not, learning and application differ for everyone; you can't just simply accomplish peak performance over night, everyone is different. PewDiePie also mentions in the first video that he watched some tutorials, a couple of those are pretty long so sure, he may have drawn for 10-20min a day, but assuming he watched the whole thing, he was studying those tutorials for longer.

That's the problem; I'm not passionate about anything.

Being dispassionate should be the real focus in my opinion. You've expressed your disdain for the Sketch Collab's ease of entry, younger talented artists, disapproval of your own skills, and also mentioned prior that even if everything fell into place, it still wouldn't leave you satisfied. I could be entirely wrong, but it feels like the only thing that matters is the sudden and simultaneous increase in both skill and notoriety.

To reach a level of experience and work similar to those collabs; what you're asking for is like playing pick-up basketball in your area and asking how to be in the NBA in the shortest time possible, and then getting frustrated because there's D1 players younger than you that have better odds.

I don't think you've ever mentioned having any sense of enjoyment with your art (at least in here). So I'll ask again, Why do you want this? No one is forcing you, if I recall it isn't your degree of study, and presumably your livelihood isn't tied to it. I don't mean to speak on the behalf of others, but I think no one here wants you to quit or give up, every one of us does this for our own reasons, to tell our own stories however we can. If you want to genuinely make something, you are the only one who can tell your story; doesn't matter what anyone else is doing, doesn't matter if its better or worse than theirs, it is yours to tell.

I guess I want to be good at something that can get ratings on here, but I've gone over why each of them isn't an option:

• Animation - need to be good at drawing first ❌
• Art - been drawing for over three years with no improvement whatsoever ❌
• Music - been playing piano for about a decade, but I have yet to come up with a single original composition; then again I've been thinking of getting FL Studio and playing around with that ❓
• Voice acting - I hate the sound of my own voice ❌
• Writing - my only ideas so far are fan fictions of pre-existing stories ❌
• Game development - I find coding mind-numbingly boring ❌

Is that all I'm destined to be? Just a consumer instead of a creator?

Pretty much.

If we're using a basketball analogy, I guess it's more that those other players can "score" multiple "baskets" after only playing a few games while I have yet to "score" a single "basket" even though I've played many more games.

I guess so I can finally stop thinking "I wish I could do that." whenever I see someone talented online?

Im afraid that i wont be able to get myself unpruned if my art doesn't improve.

This thread has a perfect blend of positive motivation mixed with slices of hard realism, and I really loved reading through everyone's posts. So many different takes from different skill levels, and it's heartening (for the reader) to see similarities and know other people are going through the same struggles.

For any of the newer artists, I find that joining a small community/fandom is a great way to get motivated. There's less pressure to compete with god-like artists, because those communities appreciate every bit of love/attention thrown their way, and you can use that as motivation to get better.

This means you are not practicing correctly. And 1 hour a week seems low to me. 30 minutes a day is what I would expect to hear from someone trying to improve. You should also not spend all your focus on chasing the numbers.

I guess the issue is that I can never think of anything to draw. Once a week is how often I come up with something to draw.

You're not going to get anywhere if you wait for an idea to strike you. You should be actively looking for specific subject matter. If you want to draw characters you should be studying anatomy and form. Gesture and shape language. You don't become a cook by putting random stuff in a bowl. In this internet age it has never been easier to find resources to learn from.

Any resources you'd recommend? I've already tried videos by Jazza, Proko, and ModernDayJames, as well as drawabox.com, and they haven't really helped all that much

Tried them in what way?

For the videos I followed along what they were showing, and for drawabox.com I did the first 2 or 3 chapters as instructed until I got stuck

All I can say is I struggled with digital art for 2 years because it made me meet and befriend people which left me and I became an empty, skill-less shell of a bitch that just this year had the balls to upload some of her stuff. But on my own? Shit I can't even draw a flower. The worst part? It's what I always wanted.

I understand that feeling of yours related to interaction with people online. As much as I love Newgrounds and the people in it, I always remember myself I can't threat them as real friends since I haven't met them in real life, so they're just lovely people who make cool things. Might sound cynical, but is a sane approach: as much as you like some people, you really never know who's behind the monitor. If I were to recommend something, i'd recommend you to just go out with people u know in real life (we can give advice and support, but humans also need contact and physical interaction, something none of us can give in this format).

As for your art skill, what else? if you feel you're lacking abilities, the best you can do is investigate and practice, specially practice. If I have learned something after a lot of time drawing is that most of time you improve whenever you have the necessity, whether you know in what you improved or not ('til this day, I still don't know the name of many artistic techniques, styles and things, even though I use many of these and i'm really good at drawing as stated by others)

Thanks, and yeah, I guess I forgot to spend time with my family. I could draw the best cardboard box after a wholesome breakfast with my ma

What's there left to do when all I do, I despise? When I can't work on getting better because I feel it will never be "good enough" as to share with the rest? The question is: Why should I go on? There's millions of artists better than me with the same ideas, better styles. What do I get? I don't feel like I accomplished nothing, I don't feel I'm doing good to anyone.

Of course, there are lots of artists better than you, but there are also lots of artists worst than you, and both groups have gathered a fanbase, some because they do cool things, and some others because they have the charisma to make everything good no matter how crappy. Also, not everyone improves at the same pace. Madness series is still improving many things up to this day, and that series is over 20 years old, and began as crappy as Marsh-mellow Madness could be

You're right, as I tell myself sometimes to push forward "I suck, but no one else can suck as I suck!"

I sincerely apologize, but I'm gonna necro this thread one more time.

Don't worry, it isn't more pathetic whining like I usually do. It's just a question, or perhaps a request for a solution to a problem I've been having:

Is there a foolproof secret way to force myself to draw for at least a few minutes every day?

I've been told that if I start doing that, my art might actually start improving for once, but my brain always comes up with BS reasons to not do so. These include:

1. What if instead of drawing we took a nap?
2. What if instead of drawing we played video games?
3. What if instead of drawing we browsed social media?
4. What if instead of drawing we bitched on Reddit and Newgrounds about our art not improving?
5. Draw what? We both know we're not creative enough to come up with anything to draw.
6. What's the point? Why should we draw at all? What does anyone get out of it?
7. Remember that 17-year-old we saw on Twitter the other day who's animating professionally for One Piece? If anything we could possibly make has already been made by someone half our age with 1000x the talent, what reason is there for us to make anything at all?

Last month I set a challenge for myself to draw for at least 5 minutes every day of April, but so far I've only drawn about 6 of those days out of 14 and counting.

For what I see, most of your reasons for not drawing are related to "addiction problems" and by that, I mean that you prefer to take a nap, play videogames and browse social media other than actually wanting to draw something. I've faced this kind of problem a lot by myself and seen it in others a lot more times, and usually, the solution leans more towards threating the addiction itself and putting yourself in a more positive mindset, what i'd suggest to you instead of just forcing yourself to draw more regularly is actually put limitations in your activities, like "today I won't play any videogames until I have drawn for at least 5 minutes", kinda like when you do homework: first finish homework, and then you can go watch TV.

Anyway, this kind of problems (as stated by your points 5, 6 and 7) have to do with a more personal situation and are related to how you deal with problems in general, and in extreme case scenarios, with any mental or psychological issue you might be facing, like depression or anxiety.

I'm not saying this is your case though, i'm not a doctor, and a weirdo you meet on the internet is not always a very reliable source of information, so my bestest suggestion is, if you've been facing this problem of lacking focus and motivation for a long time, consider going to a doctor, mainly a psychologist or a neurologist, specially if you've tried many things before and feel none of these have helped in any way.

instead of seeing drawing as a chore or a burden, or something to do only because you “have to”, try to think of it as something that you actually want to do because you want to get better, and you want to be more creative, and you want the satisfaction of creating something that you feel good about

Yes. Force yourself to draw for at least a few minutes every day. It's that easy.

i'm stuck in a permanent cycle of "dream up ideas for art but never make them" => "feel guilty that i'm not doing art" => "actually do art and...its so clearly amateurish and far from the skill i want" => "ragequit due to perfectionism and go back to what i'm used to - games, music listening and social media - but it gives me ideas i never follow up on"

i hate it here ......

i realise you like to harp on age alot. you cannot turn back time. seeing younger people succeed is good. it means you too can achieve what you want in a timespan lesser than their age.

there is no point to draw truly, but same can be said of playing games, browsing social media and bitching about yourself, why are you still doing it?

having a short nap is good actually, limit it to where you find yourself waking up with the most energy to have the willpower to draw. it is harder to establish a drawing habit when you are tired, choose the time you know you will be most awake in the day to draw.

creativity is gained from actually doing. you don't have much skills to combo with if you are a low level adventurer.

so you've drawn 6 out of 14, what was your frequency before that?

You're in a case of "seeing the glass half empty". The only way of changing your problem is by changing your perspective on it, and you can easily do that by reversing the process you spelled above.

"I'm gonna do art without focusing in my perfeccionism, and only in my desire for drawing" => "I see i'm not real good at it, but it's because i'm lacking skill or some knowledge" => "Since i'm feeling guilty for not doing art, i'm actually gonna do whatever helps not feel guilty for it, which could be actually make art" => "Now that i'm not feeling guilty and i'm searching to improve, I can think of ideas to challenge myself"

My next appointment isn't until two weeks from now; the reason why I asked this question on NG instead of just asking my therapist is because I got too impatient and couldn't wait any longer without answers.

What if my goal was to achieve those things while I was still young?

Because unlike drawing, those other things are fun. I get enjoyment out of them.

If we're using an RPG analogy, I guess my problem is that I've been "level grinding" for over 3 years, yet I'm still at Level 1.

About one hour per week, I think?

Two reasons:

1. If I get good at drawing I can finally stop feeling so envious whenever I see cool art online
2. If I get good at drawing I'll finally be good at something for once

What would you say is the "proper" reason for wanting to draw?

To become good at it. If I ever become good at it, I might stop thinking "I wish I could do that" all the time whenever I'm on art-related websites.

what is your threshold of "still young"? if you already exceed it, your goal is unachievable which means you need to change it.

drawing, video games, social media. what other words beside fun can you think of to associate them with? btw you used to associate drawing as fun.

i guess the problem is how are you "level grinding"? i see you constantly mention that you tried all those resource people constantly suggest and that they did not really helped. it seems like you always drop out after doing the first few exercises, citing no improvement. doing those exercises won't give you improvement immediately. they are meant to be constantly practiced upon.

well there is improvement on that front. don't dwell on the days you missed.