Here are some motivational quotes that I have up in my office to remind me to keep going as an artist: - "Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional." - "Comparison is the thief of joy." - "Sucking at something is the first step toward being sorta good at something." - "Mistakes are proof that you are trying." - You can't hire someone to do the push-ups for you." - "Giving up on your goals because of one setback is like slashing your other 3 tires because you got a flat." - "What would you do if you weren't afraid?" - "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail."

"You don't really get to a point where you're done failing" Yup! I don't have a mantra. I just keep drawing. I know won't get out all the drawings and stories that I have in my head before I die so it's a race to see how many I can get out in the time I've got on earth.

"Make mistakes, you can fix them. You can't fix a blank page." - Neil Gaiman

Mantra: "better done than perfect"

"Do more think less" (I am an over thinker :) "It doesn't have to be perfect for it to be powerful"

"Pressure is a priviledge." I've lived by it long enough that every time I start feeling the pressure of working as an artist, I say this to remind myself how lucky I am to even have a shot every day to be doing this. The pressure, the impostor syndrome, the fear of the blank page - it's all the reminder that this is what I want to be doing.

Something I've taken from Jiu-jitsu is a saying, "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast." Just putting in the work is making progress and helping you grow.

for me its the Beethoven quote "To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable. "

One of my mantras for life in general, not just artistically, is I tell myself from time to time when im feeling down and overly focused on the negative is "What's the good news?" and usually i find myself saying "oh yeah!" and i remember something that's going good, and often its multiple things that i am greatful for.

My mantra are: “one day at a time”, “one thing at a time”, and “baby steps”. When you’re chronically ill, it’s hard to get around to basic chores on top of going to work/school. So it reminds me to slow down, focus on the immediate present, and just focus on one thing I can get done today without feeling like I ‘wasted’ the whole day. It’s really helped reframe my relationship with productivity and my negative self perception around laziness.

I've had a piece of paper on my wallet for over 15 years at this point that says ''the only way to fail, is to stop''. It's been a mantra in a way. Also, you can only give your 100% either you like it or not, that's the hardest you can push it. If you're honest with yourself, and you know your'e pushing it, that's all you can do. Tomorrow will be better if you keep pushing, just a little bit every day, as long as you're really pushing.

10 years ago, one of my teacher told me something after a competition I felt I failed, that got stuck with me since. It was about feeling like you failed, or not succeeding at something you tried, and it translated like this : "The first quality of anything is to exist". Ever since, when I feel scared to try something, or getting out of my confort zone, this mantra pop out in my head. Hope it can help !

Why are we talking about motivation when we could be discussing the BEST freehand straight line I have seen. My guy is a human ruler! Great video!! very inspirational!!

That's similar to my ADHD mantra. "Some days I walk the squirrels, some days the squirrels walk me." Because sometimes it shows up and makes my entire day chaos. I really liked yours though, it's much more thought out than mine. I just sort of left off at the squirrels being in control. Thanks for giving me the incentive to do better.

My hubby and I really want to get into webtoons but I feel my art is just not good enough when I look at all these other toons and artists. I have a degree in animation but it’s been so long since I’ve sat down and really created something for a purpose other than doodling and creating surrealism…it’s hard for me to remember how to draw simplistic dwarves for my comic. I’ve got a killer story but the art part of it is escaping me and keeping me from really putting the pen to paper to try and get this story visually told. I think this mantra about the raptor is just what I needed…regardless of my drawing chops these days, at least getting a frame or two on the storyboard will help…at least I hope so…thanks for the advice. It indeed helped!

"In time, we're all masters." and "Guess who's got this." Are my mantrass for anything in life.

I don’t know why but I think a lot about ‘art pieces are never finished just abandoned’ it seems a little dark at first glance but it’s helped me definitely put more effort into pieces but not spending too long on them but it also helped me realise that I can always keep working on a piece I could for years and years I can always ‘improve’ it even after I think it’s done and it’s definitely helped me a lot with drawing everyday can work on a new one everyday and when it’s done it is and can improve

Psalm 23 first thing in the morning

I am a Illustrator / Designer for 20 years who does video editing / motion graphics. But A.I is crushing all my will to create. Many many many free software that makes my work as a Designer, as a video maker and graphic Design in a flash! And too many people are using. Last year i put my first children´s book on the marketing (i mostly draw for a insurance company and other big companies in the past). But man this A.I bullshit hit me hard. If you open amazon there is millions of "childrens book" made by cheap A.I. To the point i am not using my sketchbook like in many months. The struggle is REAL Jake... The creative mind is now reduced to press buttons and prompts.

I don't know about a daily mantra, but I often have to remind myself "don't judge a work in progress as if it's a finished piece."

Yea, right when I feel happy with my art, I see everyone else's art and then just feel like I suck and I should just back up quietly into the shadows.

I love your videos so much. I have them in my rotation of art videos I watch in the morning before I study to get me motivated for the day. Keen for the next one! 😁

Many of us i am sure walk the same path of self improvement, whatever your inclinations it's a path that demands discipline, drive and more often then not it can be a cruel and sometimes lonely walk, but something i realised that Jake rightly pointed out is that sometimes it is just you. you'll have days where you feel like you can't do anything and you feel miserable because of it , but then you have days where you're just doin alright, and then that ONE day happens, a day where everything makes sense and all that tinkering you've been doing, those rejections, those frustrations, those painful moments are all made worth while. It's rare, but when it happens, that's when you truly begin to understand.

Thank you so much for the link. First time getting one of your artworks. Will print out and put on my wall very soon.

It really fills me with a warm strength to see all these artists out here doing whatever they can to nudge other burgeoning artist in the right direction for growth.

0:05 - Every time i sit down to draw, and it makes it pure suffering to draw, but im forced to do it, because if I don't draw it, nobody else will. - I guess you could say THAT is my mantra; "If I don't do it, it won't get made at all." and what makes me draw every day, through the desire to break down and scream at the paper.

I like your montra, mine is a list I repeat to myself and yours fits right in. "Delayed gratification, self-discipline, and give." Also "you have a soul, protect and strengthen it." God bless

AHHH I should have listened to this before our conversation! Fantastic! I share these feelings EXACTLY. The thing I have done to help cope through the days that were met with frustration upon frustration of not "producing" what I deemed visually (output wise) "succesful" at the end of the day is to say out loud "Today was a good day. I failed a lot. " If I am happy with everything I'm doing consistently, then I'm not pushing myself enough (like you said). The book I'm working on right now is completely out of my comfort zone compared to the few books done prior. And it is kicking. my. butt. So simple ...yet so complicated. And with that has come a ton of failing. A lot of days (even weeks) spent have passed with a sense of "How did I only come up with this tiniest bit of work or nothing after all this time spent?!?!" But I have to recognize that a ton of hidden work has been happening all along. And all of that hidden work makes itself known when you finally "crack it" and that exhilarating "YES!" leaps off your tongue. The other thing I do always is repeat my own version of Eddie Murphy's "keep it together keep it together keep it together" line from Bowfinger ;). I've adjusted it to "keep it simple keep it simple keep it simple". I use that constantly when I find myself over-thinking and over-working. It grounds me for sure, and I need to use this tool often.

"Don't worry about others, worry about yourself" I always remind myself that I've gone so far because I chose to input little effort day by day, year by year, without stopping. Fueled by pure fuck it energy, I love drawing and creating. Easier said than done, i struggle tremendously because the world keeps shoving others' work into your face and constantly reminding you where you are. Just dont remember, that you are here today becaus eof a lot of small effort over time.

The rule of thirds is awesome, thank you for sharing it. My mantra is enjoy the process not the end result. It always works.

I love this video Jake! Thank you!! I have a little chat with myself each day, and I distill down my thoughts into feelings. I ask myself if what I am thinking is serving me or not? If I am not sure about where I am at, I know if I am excited about what I am doing. Some days are not easy. Usually it's those moments like you said, where I am really pushing myself and I happen to be in the murky middle there. I have to be careful not to get into comparison trap, looking for feedback, or consolation from social media, family, etc. I have to trust there is an internal navigation system built in, and it's a feeling place. Thoughts hold so much power. And feelings run in tandem with that. Both are signposts. And I've decided, to make that my gauge, daily. :)

Thank you for lifting a heavy burden from my efforts, Jake!

My mantra I've always lived by is "Life is not life without passion.", I need to start telling myself that more often as I fell off of it. It's been a struggle, a lot of what you covered and the way you explained it really helped. Not gonna be torturing myself anymore over the process due to fear of failure. When you said 1/3 of the time you should be seeing what you'd want, and the rest being what I fear the majority of the time, I felt the overbearing weight lift off my chest. Thank you.

Your videos are a light in some dark times dude. Keep them coming.

I feel like thinking is a really important part of the process. Sometimes the first idea you have is the best but often if I get stuck with a piece, I’ll stop making and meditate on the project. Sometimes it just gets you over the obstacle and others it spurs a whole new idea that is way better than what you originally came up with.

Thank you Jake! I needed this today. Love the mantra. I haven’t put mine into a specific sentence yet, but I think following that spark that gets you to draw is key. If something in a great drawing catches my eye (like how the pants go into the boots in your drawing just now) it gives me energy to draw and get just a little better every day. We’re all just paying it forward.

❤️❤️❤️Thank you very much Jake! Great video and amazing idea to share the sketch! 🙏🏻👍

Thank you for sharing! Every morning I jot down 3 things that I am grateful for and then remind myself to be aware of the judgement you place on yourself - it's not a race, allow your creativity to blossom step by step

Thank you Jake. I always struggle with this mindset and being too perfectionist and trying to understand all the fundamentals all at once made it really hard for me to see any progress to the point where I stop for 2 months every 3 or 4 months. I really needed to hear this from an artist I really admire and I will start taking it easy and watch myself in the long run... I really appreciate your advice and mantra ❤❤

Well said, brother. I like to say I fail forward. It’s not a set back, but a moment to learn and to take that information into the dialog with my material moving forward. Your work should be a constant feedback loop, and it’s on you to make the adjustments as you see fit. It’s not always going to be easy or smooth. That’s where I like your mantra about dressing for the hunt. Show up. Do the work. The more people hear this the better.

"Lean into the chaos." - Jake, this video was special. Thanks for sharing, you are a real one.

Excellent example how to make your work more creative, never judging too much but maintaining consistency whatever you re doin. Bound to be successful one day. I have been an artist for more than 12 years, and its fun to go through different things every day and be satisfied with the result, going through where I lack and getting a fire to get better.

My mantra is the latin phrase: Viam Inveniam Aut Faciam Which means: I will find a way, or make one It's on everything. My business cards, my website, my resume/portfolio. Basically sums up my approach to everything

There’s no critic harsher on you than yourself, so don’t worry about it and draw

I saw this video just at the right time and it helped me immeasurably. Thank you for readjusting my focus, brother 💪

My mantra is one that I picked up working around with IFP and the independent film world, "Get it in the can!" That's the goal, and I stick to it!

Jake, that was a really great reflexion. I kind os needed to listen to that. One in a while I get a little lost and until I find my way back to myself it feels like everything is gone. My personal mantra, well, one of them, is one I told my students a lot: "Any drawing is better than no drawing".

Bullseye, Jake! Great video! Personal projects are a great way to measure progress. They often take a long time to complete, so being able to see them all in one folder allows you to easily track your improvement by looking at the entire project. In my case, this can be a challenge with comic book pages because the progress between pages can be significant. However, I also can't leave things inconsistent, haha! (One of the challenges I've faced is having to redraw parts of the comic to maintain consistency. Even as a veteran artist, sometimes I develop new techniques that can alter the style too much to ignore.)

Been in this exact kind of rut. Thanks for the video.

That work of Art you did is perfect. It fits exactly how I see myself only difference is that its a fiery dragon, but only because I am 44 now and have decided to take on my true life back with purpose instead of living a sedentary life where I never had to work and everything was given to me. The difference was I was existing but I wasn't really living. Life in full of ups and downs, challenges and excitement, most of all it is life has things worth fighting for.

Hi you just came up on my feed , I found this very informative and interesting to consider , different principles that are definitely applicable, but interesting inner musings so thank you for that .

Thank you for this video, it really helped me with creating art. Thanks for explaining it. ❤

I actually really needed to hear this today. Thank you

I love your mantra! I'm being hunted a lot lately but I've been trying to improve and I'll continue to work on my project until I can finally hunt that raptor :]

this video found me at the right time, thank you. I was definitely wrapped up in the "day trading" and needed to break that

Thanks for keeping us struggling artist inspired and motivated! Appreciate it!

I remember meeting you years back at Lexington comic con. I think you had just put out your first art book. Was great meeting you then Jake, hopefully I'll see ya again some day at a con. Great videos!

I just have to keep drawing the ideas and tools that I can use to do so. Thank you for your insight.

The not day trading on your creativity is so freeing and such a good perspective. My mantra is "embrace the Flow, the Flow is everything"

As an artist that’s also a trader, this here is the best of both worlds. Thank you!

Hey there Mr. Jake, I just found your channel and I think you are the prescription I needed , was feeling a bit down , I couldn’t quite pin point it but I have to say what you talked about , really got me feeling differently ( for the better) I’m Really thankful for your thoughts!! Warmly, Dory

I always explain that my art is like magic it poofs in my mind.

I try to tell myself that "something is better than nothing," and "It doesn't need to be perfect. Just have fun." Especially when it comes to posting on social media.

Great video Jake!

Needed that this month, thanks for sharing! Also... what pens are you using? They look juuuicy

Off-topic, but: when you mentioned "Day Trading", that reminds me of the 3DS Streetpass game "Market Crashers" -- its main mode is day-trading (pick _one_ market to follow, buy low, sell high = profit) BUT there's a second mode where you do "long term" investments: e.g. at the start of the day you can buy/sell stocks for _any/all_ markets at their opening price only (aka. previous closing price), but you're also aided by a timeline graph of their history over time, with a blue line denoting your "profit threshold" for that stock (i.e. money _originally_ spent purchasing stocks / # stocks owned).

Thankyou. Fire advice

Listening while sketching, it's so healthy to be reminded that showing up is the goal, and we're creating something from nothing. And that's amazing. My mantra is "sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe sh*t" 😊

Thank you so much for sharing this. I never think of my art in this regard. And thank you for explaining this to me. I feel like recently when Ive been working on my art, Ive noted lots of "failures". It made me put my drawings away and feel stuck. But then, I guess this means my eyes are getting more attuned to seeing the mistakes and seeing these mistakes can show me what I can work on improving. I am realizing, too: my first "real" digital piece (most of my art was physical or traditional before this piece, and most of my digital stuff was unfinished or not fully rendered or shaded) was my biggest failure?!! But why wouldn't it be: its my first time doing a full digital art piece?! 😂 Its not gonna be perfect. It takes time. We as humans are so silly when we expect perfection immediately. Yeah, it can feel overwhelming or sucky when it doesn't pan out completely as anticipated, but art is a skill not a talent soo 😅 Again, thanks for sharing this stuff. It's probably life changing advice to have heard, seeing as I love the process of making art I just get discouraged easily.

My mantra: "These cartoon's aren't going to animate themselves!"

Thanks for this Jake, I needed it. Wrote down the raptor mantra. You're a kind soul my brother, and by the way, cool fox, getting a Bess vibe there.

For me my mantra when it comes to creating, or doing exercises or anything outside of work is: ''show-up''. I find that it's the hardest for me when it comes to things outside of my work where I don't have any other responsibility than myself. Because then, once I am set in front of my desk, or in my jog pants for exercises, once everything is ready, I just start and then the flow start to kick in. And if nothing spectacular comes out of it, it's ok, it's part of the process. When it comes to work, or anything that has a scope of responsibility that doesn't exclusively include myself, I generally have a less harder time, because I know that people count on me, that I have a commitment to honor. And on the harder days when it's hard to find motivation, I am a firm believer that -> ''if you don't do it for yourself today, at least do it for your teammates, for the client, for the peoples who relies on you to show-up''.

my mantra latelly is 'where will straining and rushing get you? huh?', then i sit down and do the thing calmly works quite well also keeping a small stack of notes, observations on the process mostly, like some insights, mine and from other people, which i shuffle and read and ponder about casually at times

Not a motivational quote but something I learned this year is : "you don't like the result ? No prob, just re-do it when you have the energy." I used to tell myself "it's okay, at least it's done" and move on. But some projects are valuable enough to just... go back and do it again, better. And it's so much easier to just do another sketch, another lineart... Than trying to correct a mistake on a "finished" piece. I learned to be patient and often, the "redo" part is so much quicker and better because I already did it once, and I inconsciously learnt from the process.

Love this!

Patience, persistence, and passion. The three P's are my mantra of choice.

Wow this was really eye opening

Thanks Jacob!

Spot on. I have developed a mental framework of viewing everything in categories of either erosion or tectonic shift. I approach a painting as a work of erosion. I don't worry about getting everything done all at once. I sit down and decide to erode the hands for a bit then I go for a walk. Then I come back and erode the hands some more or maybe some fabric. After a time, I get to a place where I feel good about it and post it online. Then I see the glaring mistake. I consider the revelation of the mistake as progress toward my improvement. Because I hadn't noticed the mistake before. Each mistake I notice after posting is evidence of my improvement.

I'd love to see a post-mortem video about Skyheart, to see what you learned from the project, how it was received, and if you have plans for more stories in that world. It feels like it was a project that was such a big part of your life and I'm interested in finding out what it was like to have the comic come to fruition and live in the world.

My Manta is just get to the coffee and it will all be ok. 😄 Loved this one. Thanks.

really insightful!

I like your fox drawing. I did a similar drawing a while back of a tiny me flipping off this giant demon... It's on my KZfaq and IG. But for me, it represented sort of everything in my life that I feel like can just dismiss with the middle finger. Doubting my own artistic abilities is certainly one of those things.

There will be joy in this day!

This was my problem initially. I worried too much about how I wasn't drawing well or "good enough." So instead I just started drawing and critique myself like say this could've been better if I used cross hatching instead of hatching, or use a lighter or darker pencil. Really the point is just to do it. You will only learn by failing, at some point I feel like Im always failing but really its just learning from the experience and moving on to improve.

my mantra = "Get out of bed and do the thing you love before money makes you do something you hate." the fear of unwanted jobs e.g: digging holes, seems to work for me. Spent to much time in that money pit.

Amazing video, some really good insight. I dont agree very much with the rule of thirds. I have seen many people including myself that break that rule. You cant always be winning and getting better. But you can always failing and getting better; that's called being a perfectionist. Trying to make something every day is good advice but can get tricky for longer projects. You can let yourself off the hook for fubing a drawing that you only planned to work on for one day. But spending a whole day painting only to realize you have to throw it all away for the 3rd day in a row after 30 days of work is a much harder thing to wrap your head around.

the montra i commonly use is "I am speed" I usually repeat that several times. I can't remember where i first heard it but it'w stuck with me all my life

I feel like your art spoke to me today. Its funny to me because my energy is heavily reflected in the energy of that of a fox. It sounds weird to some, but like: Im a loner for the most part, I do my own thing mainly, but I have LOTS of energy. Just like foxes do. In a way, I think showing "the shadow" of us being the fox creature is symbolic, cause it means for us that we are facing who we are internally and not backing down from that shadow

the raptor mantra it's actually pretty cool! and to someone who has been dailing with constant failure it does makes totally sense thanks! I'll add it to my daily routine, my personal mantra and could sound gimmicky is the litany of fear from dune

a quote that help me sometimes is "the only way of not being afraid is by not trying at all". everyone is "afraid" of something: failure, pression, being judged... but them do it, them try it even if it's frightening or terrifying. if you do not wish to feel that, you can always stay in your safe zone, but if you dont move, you're staying in the same place!!

"A low possibility means it is not zero." this is not my mantra but something I believe in. Interesting and inspirational video. I saw it in the right time- before watching this I was once again sad that I am not selling my art. I started creating visual art in 2017. I have gifted away many of my pieces and sold only four. I still have about twenty unsold art pieces. Despite this I keep making art and hoping for the better tomorrow. But at times I get sad that I can't sell that mountain of art.

Rebecca Guay (amazing artist) says 'Inspiration finds you working' - SO SO TRUE. If you wait for inspiration it's far less likely to happen than if you're already making things and creating.

This is completely unrelated but I'd love a tour of your book collection lol. There's three that are calling out to me every time I watch your videos "Universe", "Ship" and "Egypt and Nubia". Maybe not like every book but some of your faves or something? Could be a fun ongoing series! I'll see myself out... 😅

Aye man thanks a lot!

Loved this conversation! Awesome content. New sub ❤️

That was interesting. And a great reminder that somedays, even if you don't move the needle, you need to try.

Obrigado Jake Parker! I´m really had need talk about this... Because, when we have children, the need to succeed is greater, but not every day we win.

I heard this quote from another KZfaq art video but I've found it to be very profound " your progress as an Artist relies on a healthy dissatisfaction with everything you have done up until this point"

Dont be a perfectionist that what i telll myself every time i draw now and helps me when im drawing