Quote Originally Posted by Chakramaster View Post
That's rough, Noble...but that's just something you can't expect to live with. Expecting so much only puts that much more pressure on you. Living through it for years is what makes it even harder on you, yes. That's just the thing about it. It'll only create more pain, stress, and heartache.

It's not easy at all to just brush off. No matter what you think, Noble. We are ALL worth something. Though we may feel at times like we're lost, alone, and like nothing. We all have something out there for us. It's all a matter of finding out what that is. Trust me, haters exist EVERYWHERE in this world. And there's nothing we can do about it. We can fight it, but another many take the place of a few. Sad part is, it continues into the next generations too. It falls to the people of this world to raise children right, siblings, friends and family. Cause less hurt and being more support. It'll help everyone and cause less pain and emotions for everyone.

Just cause someone tells you over and over that you can't doesn't mean you can't. YOU are the one to decide that. Not them. YOU have the right to decide in the end. You have to fight and fight hard in this world. We can't all be handed something sadly. Some are luckier there than others. If you have to create something and expect the most out of it to get a gain. It'll help, but for how long? It can't be forever and it won't last forevwe. In fact expecting it then expecting it over and over to have it suddenly cease will only hurt more in the end. I'm sorry, but it's just how things are. It'll only cause more pain to expect everything

You like creating stories and have started drawing. Make it part of that passion that drives you. Create it because you want to. Like Neo said, if you do it just to get appraise it'll never last and be yours truly. If it continues to worry you. Create daily stories, daily blogs, just as you create art when you feel like it. Do it because YOU want to and not for a gain. If it's your passion. LIVE it, don't expect the most. It will only last so long. It'll bring you higher and higher only to drop you down from that high up. The further you climb it feels great, but the fall back down will only be that much harder and hurtful when you hit the bottom.
I'm well aware of the effects of such a mentality but I'm not the one putting it on myself. I mean… I might be now but I didn't start this and if I could stop it I probably would.

Yes I know. I've heard the speech before. Though I sometimes wonder if parents realize how much pain they cause their kids sometimes. Who knows.

You think I don't know that? You think I'm not already aware that I can't just expect everything to be handed to me? I learned that hard lesson in middle school when I realized that not a single person had a shred of respect for me because I was too nice and expected that to be enough to get friends in return. Even something as simple as friendship has to be worked for in this hell of a world, so trust me I'm well aware of what hole I'm digging for myself. I don't expect it, I don't expect anything. You know why? Because I know that I'm not worth anything. If I was, I'd never have been stabbed in the back two different times by two entirely different groups of people and come out of high school wondering where everything went wrong. If I was, I wouldn't be contemplating if anyone would really care if I just stopped writing and making art one day. If I was, then I would be happy to see my parents like every other person my age, rather than sick with fear. It's why when I don't receive comments on my work, I'm not surprised, and automatically assume that no one likes it. Why wouldn't I when I'm worthless and therefore so is everything I produce?

There you go making it sound easy again. It's not that simple. It never has been and it never will be. Trust me, if it was that easy to remove myself from this mentality and live freely, I'd have done it now.

Quote Originally Posted by Neo Emolga View Post
Ehh, okay, take a step back and ask yourself what you really enjoy doing. Who cares if you're good at it right now? No matter what, if you enjoy doing it and you practice more and more at it, you'll get better at it anyway. But if you don't honestly enjoy doing it and only do it because you think that's what everyone else wants, it's just going to be hell. I make jokes about how bad I am at anything music-related and how I couldn't play an instrument to save my life. It's true, but if I really wanted to get better and put in the time and practice, I could. The potential, with enough time and practice, is there. Thing is, music just isn't my passion. And yet for some people, it's everything.

You know what? I used to royally suck at Photoshop. My first banner? I screencaptured Matrix code and put text on it. Done. That was it. What drove me to get better and make real banners? I liked seeing the kinds of banners other people had and I wanted a really good one too (at the time, I didn't think to ask someone else for one which was probably for the best). So I drove my butt to get better and more and more, I made banners I was personally satisfied with and kept building upon them. Were they insulted along the way? Of course they were. By graphic art snobs who I figured had their own way of doing things and anything everyone else did was wrong. And that's fine and I didn't bother trying to help them get their head out of their ass, because I knew hey, if I was happy with them, cool, but if I personally saw a better way of doing things, I went for it and learned. And all the while, I kept an open ear for solid advice from people that were trying to be helpful and looked for tutorials to try new things that seemed to have good results. When it comes to comments, you can usually tell because the people that are helpful go into detail and provide links to helpful resources while the haters usually leave a message that has less clarity than what a baboon would write with a pencil rammed up their nose.

It honestly sounds like what you're dealing with is depression, not anything related to skill. And it sounds like that's stress-induced. I know, you've been through a lot lately, but that has no bearing on your skills. And it definitely doesn't mean a lack of reviews or comments means the work is bad. Trust me, I have plenty of DeviantArt uploads that don't have a single comment. I don't take that the wrong way and neither should you. People get busy, things get lost in the mix. Just keep at it regardless. You also have to remember that like what Chakra said, PXR is a smaller community, which means you'll have a closer community of members, but there's fewer of us around. Fewer people means less commentary. Don't take it the wrong way.

But yeah, like Chakra said, don't do it for praise. Eventually the well will dry up. And don't berate yourself just because no one left a comment or they left bad comments. You think I quit making Photoshop stuff just because a few morons bashed my stuff? Nah. No matter where you go, you'll run into unhelpful jerks that thrive on just ruining someone's day. I get bashed all the time in Overwatch. My response? "Who are you and why should I care?" I get such amusing answers to that. Chakra can attest to them. XD

Remember, the more and more you listen to nasty people and do what they say, the more you become like them. That's why it's better to shut them out immediately. Listen to the advice of people you admire, NOT the people you despise.
That's the thing, I do have people in my life that do care. If I shown an inkling of interest in something I either have to be the best at it right away or I'm not good enough ever. And then if I lose interest? Doesn't matter, gotta keep doing it because now I'm pretty skilled and it'd be a waste of time in money. This is the exact reason why I hated playing basketball for years.

Great. I'm glad that setup worked for you. I've already explained why it won't work for me. And recently had this reinforced when I was trying to explain this to someone else and upon saying that I generally take tips well they responded "No offense, but the last time I tried to give a tip, I got attacked for it." Because rather than sympathizing with me they thought it better to label me a basket case. This is also coming from an artist that up until a little while ago I held in high regard when it came to advise.

You're just noticing? Man and here I thought it had been pretty obvious. Doesn't change a thing. If people don't like it, they won't comment, or if they do, it's hateful. Thus, when you have upwards of twenty views on something with no comments, it means twenty people didn't like my stuff enough to leave a comment. That's just how it is.

Like I said to Chakra, you make it sound so simple. Keep in mind I'm over fifteen years younger than you and was raised in a completely different environment. Let me put it this way, the reason I like Mimikyu so much is because I relate to it on an emotional level. It is me if I were a Pokémon. Hidden and ashamed.

Well I can't really do that if all the people I admire start to turn against me.