Art Achievement Unlocked: Inspired Others with My Work

As most artists do, I've been struggling for years with feelings of inadequacy when it comes to my artwork. I thought that getting some commissions last summer would help, but it didn't really. I wanted desperately to know that I was good enough to be not just a skilled hobbyist, but a professional artist, and the commissions felt more like lucky flukes than real work.

A few weeks ago, an old friend of mine told me that they were getting back into D&D, and that their decision to have their first character be a wood elf ranger was heavily inspired by my recent elf drawings.

I don't know if they know this, but them telling me that did more to boost my confidence than a hundred commissions. I've kinda stumbled upon the realisation that I don't want to create art as a job because it'll affirm something that I want to be true about myself, but because I want to affect people like that. I want to make awesome shit that makes people go "Dude, that's so cool!", and actively inspires them to do something.

I dunno. I thought my first big milestone as an artist would be to get paid work, and I guess on a technical level it was. But for me, on a personal level, my first big milestone was hearing that my work actively caused someone else to do something, even if it was just to make a certain D&D character.

Friendo, you know who you are. I can't express how much what you said meant to me. Since then, I've been trying to do a least one little drawing every day, and I actually follow through on most days. It's been a real boost to everything.

Oh, and now for the art dump.