Have you felt that feeling when you see someone’s creative work and you are absolutely astounded by their skill?
What if it’s something that you are aspiring for yourself? Is it a musician or composer? A writer, a painter, a digital artist?
How do you feel? Awed? Overwhelmed? Discouraged?
It is overwhelming because it all seems like magic. The artist’s skillset is so vast and practiced compared to yours, that it seems impossible to reach their level. It’s difficult to connect how they go from point A to point B. How they can weave through so many layers at once.
These feelings are, of course, natural. But it is only signaling the beginning of your journey.
Then, you dive in. You practice and develop a certain skill-set. The next time you revisit your artistic idols, your reaction to them is different. You “see” more. You can follow their practiced methods and the reasoning behind the flow of their work. It makes sense. Now, it isn’t impossible. You see where you need to be, you know where you are now, and it is up to you to hone your skills even further.
At this point, the envy and rivalry you feel toward other artists transform into admiration and curiosity. You want to share in ideas, and find ideas from others in turn. You want to reach the next step, where you can be a colleague to the people you once admired like gods. You realize that they are people, too, who once struggled as you do now.
Keep going, because you are one step closer to the start line.
The world awaits.