I mentioned in the previous post that one of the things on my mind was the idea of validation. Everyone wants to be validated in some form or another. It's only natural. We're social animals, us human beings, and as such we need to feel that we fit into the social group.
But, the desire for validation can lead us into a downward spiral if we look for it in the wrong places.
Everyone has their own reason for doing a comic. Some people have a story to tell and it just has to come out. For other people, it's a job. For yet others, it's a way of learning how to write or draw better.
The ones who confuse me are those who feel doing a comic will, in some way or another, validate them.
I was placed into a special drawing school for the gifted and talented in sixth grade and continued pursuing art since so, I feel I can speak with some level of experience here...
getting into art (webcomics especially) with the goal of it validating your worth as a human being is simply setting yourself up for a long, hard road. You get into it because you love art, not because you hope it will win you friends and convince people of your intelligence / skills.
It takes years of hard work, diligence, patience, and perhaps even a bit of humility to keep at it. You have to realize that you're not going to instantly "get it". You must also realize that even if you do "get it" there will always be someone out there who "gets it" better than you. You need to be willing to take the abuse, get back up, and - instead of throwing a wobbler - assess your work and see if there just might be something wrong after all.
You need to own your mistakes as well as your victories. Take responsibility for your actions and your work. Don't place the blame for your failures on another person's shoulders. Place the blame at your feet where it belongs. Only then can you work towards turning your failures into successes.
This is how you validate yourself. You don't gain validation by being on a podcast, sitting on a panel, having so many visitors to your site, or even just doing a comic, period. It doesn't come from hand-lettering your comics, seeing your work in print, or spouting out art theories at every available opportunity.
Validation of self comes from within the self. It's from taking responsibility - not just when things go good, but when they fail as well. It's knowing you did what you could to the best of your abilities and, that you're ready and willing to give it another try. It's quiet, dignified respect - for yourself
and for others. It's self empowerment. And, it's important that it be
from the self.
Looking to others to prove that you're a worthy person will leave you depressed and alone. Not because you're a bad person - no, I'm not saying that. But, when you spend so much of your time trying to take from others, you've no energy to give back. You run the risk of becoming an emotional vampire, seeing others as a means to an end. You may even find yourself sabotaging other people's moments of success out of a desire to bring attention to yourself. You can try to hide your actions with honeyed words. You can try to offer gifts. But eventually, people will start to notice your behavior and even the most understanding will reach their limit. And thus... you end up alone.
There's nothing wrong with sharing your successes and your fears. Also, there's nothing wrong with wanting to hear a nice word about your work now and then. Hell, everyone wants that. But, if you're using that as the sole basis of your worth as a human being... you may want to step back and reassess yourself and your reasons for doing art / comics in the first place. You should be feeling a rush at the act of creation, not a stab in the heart because the world isn't beating a path to your door.
No one - not convention creators, nor readers, nor your fellow cartoonist - is out to get you and hold you back. I'm sorry, it just doesn't work that way.
Know who you are, be honest about your abilities and accomplishments, and you won't need to look to others for validation. You'll be more confident and able to celebrate other people's successes as well as your own.
"Make it thy business to know thyself, which is the most difficult lesson in the world. Yet from this lesson thou will learn to avoid the frog's foolish ambition of swelling to rival the bigness of the ox."
-- Miguel de Cervantes
