Accepting the Compliment

Have you ever had a moment when you complimented someone’s work, in art or not, and they replied with something grumpy like “I don’t like it”? It’s like they rejected your thoughts, leaving you feeling like your opinions are somehow wrong. It probably makes you more cautious about complimenting them again, right?

Practicing art puts you in a very critical mindset. You’re constantly analyzing what things look like and how to level up your skills. Which means it’s very very easy to let that critical nature slip out into casual conversation. But if you’ve made something nice, then others will think it’s nice too, so when they compliment your work, take a moment to celebrate that!

The point here is simple: if someone says they like your art, say thank you! Don’t say “it sucks”, or, “I don’t like it”, or “I didn’t spend enough time on it”, or… well you get the picture. It’s OK to want to be better, that’s natural. But in the moment, accepting a compliment with a “thank you” goes a long way to building friendships with others online, artists or not, because you’re affirming their decision to say something nice to you.

Every artist feels like they could have done something better with their art when it’s done. But most people won’t see what that is! Don’t focus on what’s bad when you get a compliment, instead appreciate what is good! Celebrate your accomplishments with them. If you’re good about accepting compliments, people are more likely to keep giving them!

In fact, even if you feel like something about your work is bad, it might actually still be pretty good! You’re always learning and there’s a decent chance your skill at seeing has gotten ahead of you: it might look bad but there’s a decent chance your standards have just gotten really high. It’s a useful thing to happen, but don’t let it overwhelm you with negativity.

On social media especially, be graceful in accepting compliments. If you complain about your own art, what does that say about people with less skill than you? People that look up to you will feel bad about their art: if their favorite artist doesn’t like their own highly-skilled work, then it’s hard for the beginner to appreciate their own simpler pieces. But if the skilled artist helps spread some positivity, it encourages everyone around them to appreciate their own art too!

It’s OK to identify things in your art that you might do differently in the future. But for now, you made something nice, shared it with others, and got some nice compliments! Thank them, celebrate your art a little, and try to have a little happy moment. Accept that compliment, and you’re helping more people than you know! Go make some art you can be happy about today, no matter what it is. See yaaa!