WHEN TRYING HARD ISN’T ENOUGH 🎨 Having ADHD and being an artist
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ค. 2022
- I recently got diagnosed with ADHD and man... It's been a journey already! I wanted to address this condition that's a reality for many people around the world in this video and focus on how a diagnosis, even if you're an adult, is 100% necessary to function and achieve your goals!
If you liked this video and enjoy my art, please subscribe to the channel! It means a lot for this small artist and business owner 💕
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~ Twitter: / asalguez
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Please visit the amazing @howtoadhd channel! Thanks for the help and support you bring to the ADHD community!💕
🌸 Filming and Editing
~ Camara: Oppo Reno 6
~ Software: HitFilm Express
🌻 About me
My name is Alba and I'm an artist from Spain that loves creating characters and stories. Nice to meet you! I've decided to join TH-cam Art Community and pursue my passion, which is art. I would love to show everyone my process so please join me if you'd like! 💕
🎵 Music credits
Onion - by Lukembro ( / lukrembo )
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Ive had a dream of drawing or animating for the longest time and my adhd has essentially crushed that dream and for decades now i pick up the pen every now and then and i have little spurts like the one that made me find this video but ive never been able to just sit down, work, improve, and be happy with my drawings. Still wish i could find a way but i havent been able to get past the brain hurdle
I've found that people have the same issue, it feels exhausting yet most people can't see the struggle. And when you feel good about your art, you kinda know that it won't last forever. Breaking those cicles is really hard, so I'm with you 😢 I'm trying to come up with some tips or even inspiration for those like us that struggle to catch their dreams but even that is hard to achieve! Don't give up, really. Do what makes you happy, that's the best thing I could say 🎨🎨
it SUCKS so bad. I am wanting to draw every day and express my love for the world but nothing nothing nothing EVER HAPPENS and I HATE it!!! I cannot draw unless the fucking STARS ALIGN and I have SO MUCH to say and SO MUCH time
Their should be more views and comments on this I know few artists I follow that have adhd as well so this is so helpful I have adhd and still drawing but I really can find this useful thank you 🙏
Thank you so much, your comment is such a motivation! I want to have a space in my channel to talk about ADHD, sharing my experience and also tips that I find useful, both from my therapist and people around me 🥰 I would love to have a community of people that supports each other and gives tons of tips that we all can benefit from! Thank you so much for watching and stopping here to leave a comment, I really appreciate it!
I just found your channel and I really relate to this video a lot, especially the parts about wasted time, always having new ideas and finding it so hard to follow through. You got this! I'm really happy to see another artist with ADHD talking openly about it. I hope your channel grows more it definitely deserves to!
Thank you so so much! I definitely want to talk more about it as I keep making videos. It's so important to show people that not all of us can follow the same "rules" and get our goals. I feel like we need to make an adhd artist community to support each other and grow in our own special way 💕
I was diagnosed with ADHD Combined last year. ❤
i am currently in the middle of two art commissions that have taken me way longer than i anticipated and ive been beating myself up about it ;__; however everything you said reminds me of my own self and (my undiagnosed) adhd, and i feel less alone. thank you for sharing, im going to keep trying my best and seek a diagnosis, also your art is lovely ^__^
Aw, thank you so much for your comment! I feel your struggle, I spent MONTHS during the pandemic with one and only one commission and it was hell. I hated it when I finished although the client loved it and I felt so so bad for taking all that time (I wasn't diagnosed at that time). I started like you, seeing other people with ADHD in social media and relating to it, feeling like that was the answer I needed. I hope you find your own way to cope with everything but you can stick around, I promise to upload more videos with my own tips. Maybe that could help others!
Hard relate I also have ADHD and I relate to not being able to stick to the same art style for the longest time. I am trying hard to stay with the same one now with meditation and trying to find different ideas within the same style
I can feel myself as an artist in this video :)
Thank you for sharing. I was diagnosed back in 2015 at the age of 39. I have a hard time learning the basics of drawing in order to improve my drawing skills. In addition to having writing difficulties and explaining how I feel to others. Trying to find the right therapist and the right methods to break through this cycle of confusion.
You're a lot like me. *hugs* I want to cry cuz' I get it.
Aw, lots of hugs for you too 🩷 It's good to know we're not alone!
I hope your ADHD journey has been going well so far. I am now 31 myself and only take meds again for about a year. Long story short, my mom gave into rumours that meds would get people with adhd addicted even tho thats literally impossibly for us lol. But oh well, spent like 20 years without them and... MAN. Not fun.
Anyhow, I wanted to really just say that I get how it must feel. For me, the effects of ADHD are a bit more severe due to like 20 years of literally no meds and no methods to cope with it other than using my own fantasy. And now that I am taking them, it feels like a whole new world.
Something I wanna touch on, which you in part mentioned too is that you arent messy in a neurotypical way. I would even dare say that we arent generally speaking messy. Its just that we know we need to take care of it eventually, but that eventually hasnt really arrived yet so its fine. There is no importance to it. Got some bottles to return for recycling? Eh I planned to do that on Friday, I dont gotta make sure I clean them on Monday!
The more you get into the whole mess, the more you understand why you do the things you do. And it gets a lot easier to tackle at times. But at the same time its like "Wow how is this so difficult for me?" Like it makes sense why, but boy howdy it dont at the same time xD
underrated
Thank you! I still feel I have a lot to prove and improve, tho 😊
Getting a diagnosis is out of reach for many many people unfortunately, long waiting lists and very high costs.
Your video got suggested to me by the algorithm today and it made me feel a little better after a rough day, thank you I'm also in my 30s and an artist but like you I was diagnosed only in my 30s and so I'm not as far along in my artistic journey as I'd like and I'm very hard on myself about it. Your art is beautiful and I'm looking forward to watching your other videos , thanks for being open about your journey and I'm sending you all the good luck and positive vibes for your future in art!
It's really inspiring that you can deal with that in your unique way, and still remain functioning and creating that awesome level of artwork! Keep it up :)
Aw, thank you so much! It's still a challenge, though 😂 Most of the time, I've been procrastinating like crazy and finding my own way of doing things has been hard. I'm so happy my experience could help others, I will definitely focus on this content more
@@a.salguez you gotta do what you gotta do 😋
I struggle with time menagment I mean like My Mind Wants to stay up to 1-3 AM or something like that but I have school and I struggle with doing Daily things in Genshin and Honkai fastly + 40 min of Traning Daily and It makes into situantion that I am about to get into Drawing and I look Oh its 22/10 PM.
Have you tried using the pomodoro method? It helps a lot! I use it constantly so I can plan both boring and rewarding tasks so I always keep myself working during those time slots. Using a timer helps as well
We're glad youtube recommended us this video!! It's title - exactly our thoughts sometimes ahaha /sadly
Your art is really nice and your voice is so calm
Omg, thank you so much for your comment! I haven't checked comments in a while, I really suck at this 😂
I definitely agree, I believe self-diagnosis is as valid as an official one as long as you make your research and talk with people within the community, people that know you from your childhood, etc. I actually took all the tests I could before being brave enough to find a therapist and the tests I took with him was exactly the same I found online.
It's terrible that, in most cases, AFAB people or just adults in general don't get diagnosed at all... I will definitely keep posting videos related to this topic
Wow. Alba this was a video that I really needed right now. I'm a couple of decades older than you but only recently realized that I probably have ADHD. Suddenly my whole past started to make sense to me. Everything you said was so true it is very hard to explain to neurotypical people what it is like. But it sounds like you are getting some good guidance and support. I'm definitely going to get a professional diagnosis so I can move forward with my life. Thank you for sharing your struggle. You are an inspiration. I hope that your heatwave in europe is over soon, it sounds horrible.
Realizing when you're an adult is both so relieving and frustrating, right? I have the same feeling, like everything I've done and all I've struggled with have suddendly a meaning. It helps a lot when you speak to a professional, specially if they really know about ADHD (my psichologist has ADHD himself!). I definitely want to share all the tips I get from him and people around me, specially those useful if you're an artist or want a creative career or want to work from home 😊 Thank you so so much for your comment, it's so lovely to read others' experiences and it gives me other perspectives to learn even more. Thank you for sharing and don't stress too much about ADHD, I found that it's way better to embrace it, laugh at those "mistakes" we make and learn again how to live your way 💕
PS.: The heatwave is definitely horrible, I can't wait to move to a cottage in the mountains 😂
Thank you so much for this video and congratulations for making it and uploading it , I thought the same about the "How to adhd" channel, "this is helpful but what about art?" And by the way, as a digital artist myself, your drawings are beautiful and so emotional, people need this images, I needed them when I was a child I felt connected to them because literally no one else in the world would draw sensitivity as someone who experiences life with the intensity we do. I hope the best for your channel and I´m subscribing. There are so many artists thinking they are failures when in fact they are just afraid of rejection and never actually show their work thanks to those doubts, You were incredible brave doing it, and you were right to do it. It´s kind, useful and hopeful for others.
Just stumbled upon your video and thank you for making it
I'm so sorry I took this long to answer your message 😭 Thank you so so much! I hope your Inktober when wonderfully, even though you couldn't finish it. Trying and accomplishing some of it is good enough, trust me! The best advice I could give you is to listen to your own brain and stop immediately if you feel overwhelmed day by day. Burnout is horrible, I suffered a 2-year-long artblock because I kept pushing and pushing... You can always make the prompts you want all year long! 💕
@@a.salguez also apologising for week old reply (although we kinda shouldn't apologise because as we know, adhd comes with time blindness lol) thank you so much for validating my struggles, it's actually comforting to hear this from someone who has the same issues, since sadly we're kinda put on similar expectations with someone who doesn't have adhd and told to push through 😢 I also did not draw for years due to possibly burnout (and the fact that my university kinda killed my passion) but slowly getting back.
I hope you're also healing or are healed, it's pretty hard for us out there but it's possible 💙 also good luck with the comic, i look forward to seeing the process ☺
finally got on meds for my adhd & I feel frustrated that it took so long bc I feel being unmedicated partly stunted my growth as an artist. I have been so much more productive and actually finishing things now.
At the beginning I definitely wanted to try meds but my doctors completely discouraged me from doing so. Instead, I started a special therapy and it's sort of helping. That plus natural remedies and supplements seem to be helping me a lot but I still struggle a little bit. So happy to read that meds are helping, I feel like we all need to find the key to conquer our ADHD so we can live our lives as comfortably as possible. Also, I hope you keep making art no matter what! 💕💕
Everyone has a different method that works for them and I’m glad what you are doing has worked :) of course even with meds & therapy I will always have a harder time with certain things but to see any amount of improvement has also helped my depression. I hope you as well never stop making art!! 💫
Thanks for sharing this! I think it’s important to see that without adhd maybe our creativity level would not be so high, maybe it would not have existed at all. So this is definitely a super power but with some downsides 😅 sometimes … I’m also trying to explore this part of myself. Recently someone shared with me her strategy for dealing with stuff which she acronyms as ICUNP rules for choosing the things in life and how to do them - interest, challange, urgency, novelty and passion. All should be present. Applying this in life helped me so far quite well, I just struggle to get it into the art habits 🙄 but I hope I’ll manage one day.
Wow, it's fantastic that you're still pushing on and have a good support system around you! And your artwork is so good!!! I want to get more into stylised work as opposed to just realistic drawings! Any tips?
Sorry for the late answer! Work usually keeps me super busy! For me it was finding the perfect balance between what people usually call a "manga style" and the realistic drawing style I used to do at school. I heavily rely on lineart to define shapes and I think that's an element you find mostly on comics or cartoons rather than realistic portraits that might lean towards using shading, blocks of lights and colours, etc to define the volume. As a reference, I used to make my style mood boards with concept art designs. That's where you find the perfect balance between realism and stylised drawing, definitely! I would say, find some artists that have details you like and try to mimic it (not copying it!) into your own artwork. And don't get discouraged! Evolving an art style is something that takes time 😊 Thank you so much for the support as well!
Thank you, this was a very interesting video. I'm 37 myself and I've recently started to suspect that something's off. I've been doing art actively since 2013 and yet drawing is still INSANELY hard for me. Like I literally have periods of time where I feel like I've forgotten how to draw. (I pretty much draw every day by the way) And I'm not just saying this for pity points, I literally doodle around the page and make nothing noteworthy. I usually can pick back up again but it might take days to get there. Then I hit a high. And after a while I crash down again.
I keep buying and going through new tutorials all the time, new courses, new methods. They might seem like "hey this clicks" and then I'm back at wanting to throw my stuff onto a wall because I'm so insanely frustrated by not being able to do anything. During this phase I also tend to buy new supplies or new courses, thinking it will solve all my problems. The pieces I do finish, take me a really long time and I have this very controlled method that I use with watercolors and colored pencils. Doing a commission for someone would be a nightmare.
Whenever I have more time off from work I might think that I will do art all day every day now that I can. Then I end up procrastinating all day and not getting anything done and if I do manage to sit down and try to draw, I feel super anxious. Then, very rarely, there are these short spurts of time where I feel super-focused and it feels like things are finally clicking. But it usually ends after a week or two after which the crash comes.
I've never had problems with school or anything. I always found school easy to be honest. At my work in a grocery store I usually do great. I'd almost describe it as hyperfocus. I'm really fast and I don't make mistakes. Usually that is, I'm still human. But I do find that I work in patterns and might hit a button on the cash register out of habit even when I'm not supposed to etc. I also have some anxiety about being there under people's noses all day but I've always just considered that as a part of my personality since I am mostly an introvert.
The "telling stories in your head" definitely sounds familiar too. I've done that since I was a kid. I also easily obsess about things. I'm also easily irritated and can act rashly. I can get super angry about something super quickly only to realize after investigating the matter that I was just jumping into conclusions. I also write (case in point) very long posts and if I get into a conversation with someone, it can take a really long time too because I just won't stop talking.
Rules and regulations seem to be what work for me the best. I'm never late from anywhere and like I said, school was always easy for me. But whenever I can do whatever I want, things start falling apart.
Oh my god, thank you for taking your time to watch the video and comment about your experience! The way I see it, your experience sounds like mine and like many other neurodivergent people's too. I'm no expert, I can't give a diagnosis but it really sounds like either ADHD, Autism or, like I discovered it's my case, both.
For me school wasn't a problem either. That's what my therapist has described to me as being "double gifted" or "twice as exceptional". Obviously, that comes with a double edge sword: you mask A LOT, to it's very hard for doctors to see what's really going on.
Maybe learning about all this could give you some perspective 😊I started searching channels and videos all about ADHD and autism, I read some books and now I'm tackling my situation from a different perspective with a mindfulness course. This helped me a lot with my emotional disregulation and I feel a bit more balanced now. Still a lot to work on but one step at a time is enough.
About art, I can't judge what you create because we're all in our own paths but I would recommend you to "just enjoy it". Do you like grabbing a pen and doodling? That's cool, do that! If the result isn't a masterpiece, who cares? You still got something from it, it brought you joy, you made something that wasn't there before! 💕It sounds like silly positivism but it's really important for everyone to celebrate small things like that.
And of course, you want to get better but do it at your own pace and own style. I'm thinking about doing a video about art styles from a neurodivergent perspective, because we're never happy with the result and perfectionism is definitely what kills our creativity! Do things your way, incorporate what you love and leave aside what doesn't.
Wow, this is a long answer! But I still wanted to take my time to reply, wishing you all the best. Don't hesitate to answer, so we can chat about this a bit more if you need to
@@a.salguez Thank you so much :) LOL, yeah, wearing a mask definitely sounds familiar.
The more I research ADHD, the more similarities I keep finding. Apparently, work in retail fits people with ADHD because of multi-tasking and quick thinking and that's literally why I like working in a grocery store. Ironic.
I took the first step today and got a health care appointment in order to be forwarded to a psychologist. Whatever it is that I have, even if it's just general anxiety, at least now I will know.
@@a.salguez Oh and as far as the doodling goes, I actually hate aimlessly doodling. Or rather, I really have to work on getting into the correct mindset. I did some "free-form sketching" for a Dynamic Sketching course but even then I aimed at something that looks good. I did pick up this random toned paper book that I found recently and just wrote "Flora and Fauna of the Galaxy" on the cover and I will try to do one drawing on it each day.
Either something from, say, Star Wars or then just some of my own weird stuff. And it will be just for me
I hope to also understand my brain a little better lmao I relate too much in this vid. Wonderful art 😍😍
Thank you so so much
Go babyy 🐏✨
Aw, thank you 💕💕
i’m dying to get diagnosed but it’s really hard for me to acknowledge that i actually am not faking my symptoms, but my brain keeps telling me i’m just looking for an excuse, i also tend to forget how merciless the world is towards non typical people so while my diagnosis could help me it certainly will bring up many challenges socially speaking, even if i personally would rather have an official diagnosis :/
Imposter syndrome is something that I dealt with while I was waiting for a diagnosis too. Even if I heard people telling me "yes, I see it now" or if I kept finding things that were normal for me and not for others that are ADHD symptoms. So yes, I definitely understand what you're going through right now and I would say: be gentle and compassionate to yourself!
ADHD is, as you mention, a condition that gets treated poorly by others who don't understand it. However if getting a diagnosis is something that would improve how you perceive yourself, go for it. Society might or might not understand us but the most important thing here is yourself. Finding out what feels "off" can be life-changing, learning about it will make things easier. Understanding why you struggle and giving yourself time to accept it ( as you heal from it) feels great.
Sending lots of love and strength, I'm here for anyone who might need a chat about this 💕💕
PS.- I think the official test is called the DIVA or something like that. I checked it online before my diagnosis and it was exactly what my therapist used to get my diagnosis. It might be worth it checking it out!
From another ADHDer, thanks for sharing.
:0)
Thank you so much for your comment
Remember, someone’s ability to build an audience doesn’t really correlate with the quality of their content.
People with a large audience often have good/appealing content, but people with good/appealing content don’t often get a large audience.
The odds of making a living off of social media are near impossibly small. This doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t try, if you have something you want to put out there, then do it. Just don’t do it with the expectation of receiving an audience, or that the presence or lack thereof of an audience necessarily indicates quality.
Everything you said is so true. I realised that some time ago, when I was in the middle of a burnout and art block. I realised it's not my art's fault but how difficult it is to begin with + how we consume media right now. Adding my current needs for some economical stability it just makes sense that I needed to switch into a healthy lifestyle for my mental health first, then keep trying with this dream on the side.
I'm currently studying and preparing myself for a job I also love a lot while I keep drawing and planning how I can come back to TH-cam with all the ideas I had but with a healthiest approach 💕