A quote I once read that inspired me was something like “if someone accused you of being an artist, would there be enough evidence on the walls of your house to convict you?”
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I have very little wall left. Between me and my lettucecraft family, I’ve not needed to paint the walls for years. Ok they do need painting, but there’s not much wall left to see!
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We used to say, “If it’s finished, it’s perfect!”
But we were working with tight deadlines. Now, my motto seems to be “If you’ve only done one version, you could probably make it better!”. It’s nice to have the time for perfection.
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Wow… exactly what I’ve been goin thru right now. I was asked by my cousin to do diorama for his car collections, he has a reputation when it comes to money so I brushed it off but he kept insisting, so I caved in, I wanted to do the project but was scared he won’t pay me, at first he said he would just treat me for a stake! Come on! So I told him I’m an effin vegetarian! (But I am not) so I insist of the amount I wanted and in the end he did pay me but with a silly grin on his face that he wanted to get away if he can… after an hour or so he sms me he wanted more, this time he gave me 3x of the project, I was thinking maybe he thought it was the same price so I told him off that what he is asking is a different price from the previous one. So I quoted him 3x more just what I feel right for the project, he said it’s too much and stopped messaging me. Lol I just laugh and told my sis about it, She said he is like that! This kind of BS People thinks they can always get away with stuff for free, and what are we? Their slaves! 
sorry for my ranting!
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This is not an advice but I realized, if I wanted to make it happen I have to get a bigger table, stop obsessing to organize things, tools and materials, it will always be messy, (I still organize but I’m trying to still work in a mess) or else I will not get any project done if I always wanted to keep everything neat and tidy. Do not try to please people, this has always been true to me, my mom is also an artist she is an interior designer, I think being a daughter we wanted an approval from our parents, you see my mom love miniatures too, she has several displays, but she never gave me any complement, I was actually waiting and longing for her to say “oh so pretty, or nice or cute” but not once! She even criticize my work, too small or not in proper scale, too big, she even says “it’s ugly!” 
it hurts a bit but I’m numb already, sometimes she will look at it and just walk away… I don’t know why, she is a very complicated human being but I stopped asking approval from her long time ago and just be happy with the work I’m doing… we can not please everybody, certainly not her! I just don’t mind her anymore. I’m used to it. Lol
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Stop, step back (a few steps. across the room, even), and look at your work in progress every once in a while. You’ll be able to better see what areas need more work, or if it is “done”.
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“The water doesn’t flow until you turn on the tap.”
The way to get new ideas isn’t to sit around waiting for inspiration, it’s to just make stuff. When I haven’t made art in a while, it’s easy for me to try and wait for the perfect moment or idea, but the thing to do is to start. Everything else follows from there.
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I draw a lot. My mom draws. My friends draw- Between them I have learned that you will never learn to draw something if you don’t try. And ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try try again-’ Those two things have helped me to not give up on a drawing. Another bit of advice that my mom taught me is; even if you’re drawing fantasy, look at real life. It will help you-
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Not really advice given to me, just observation/suggestion. Use reference photos if you can’t see it in real life. Even the Renaissance masters didn’t paint from their heads completely, they had real people sit for sketches. Google pictures of people/animals/things you want to draw. Pull stuff out of your kitchen cabinets and make a still life on a TV tray, just drop it there and draw it how it lands. That pile of dirt laundry on the floor? That’s an excellent study in drawing fabrics. Cat asleep on the sofa? Draw it. Draw everything and anything.
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Don’t surf the internet looking for proof that you suck; look for inspiration instead.
Wash your brushes with Master’s brush cleaner and leave a thin coating on the brush to maintain point.
Don’t be afraid to “waste” paint and paper. https://onplanners.com/templates/smart-goal
Draw stuff you don’t like to draw. (Backgrounds, both genders, inorganics, etc.)
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This is great advice
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I’m pretty sure this hasn’t been mentioned…
If your drawing is “off” but you can’t figure out why hold it up to a mirror.
Re: “wasting” supplies…I once bought some professional quality water colors, but, then I was afraid to use them because I didn’t want to waste them (they were kind of expensive, for me anyway)…so after a year or so of just looking at them every once in a while I figured if I learned something it wasn’t a waste…but, by then they had dried out in the tube 
! I still cut open the tube and was able to use them like the pan watercolor but, a lot of it did go to waste…
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That’s such a waste 
I have a shoebox full of children’s art supplies. I’d get them at my birthday from my friends but my parents hated having finished crafts around, they would throw them away. I wasn’t going to have my precious craft supplies go to waste! So I kept my treasures in a box underneath my bed for when I was a grown up. I hadn’t figured that adult me wouldn’t be into kids’ crafts. But at least I vividly remember the joy of going through my stash.
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Oh yes! I have found this super helpful too - a great way to see your drawing clearly and what bits need adjusting.
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There is some great advice here, I’ve enjoyed reading all of it.
The top advice I try to follow is:
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Only compare yourself to yourself. Comparing yourself to others never leads to good things. Being inspired by others - yes. Enjoying others work, vision, and talent - yes. Learning from others - yes. Comparison - no. Comparing your work to others leads to unhappiness as then suddenly someone’s work has to be “better” instead of just different.
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Enjoy the process. If enjoying making a thing is the goal, the end result is suddenly much less important.
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Practice. The more you do a thing, the better you get at it.
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It will never be “perfect”. Know when to stop. You are your own worst critic, there will always be something to tweak.
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Everyone should read The Craftsman’s Handbook by Cennino Cennini and after reading it. Read bits of it every so often for inspiration. That book is a gem.
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Sounds interesting, I’ll check it out
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Thanks for the recommendation @BelleBeryl !
I’ve just been reading back through everyone’s thoughts again, and there are such great ideas and tips in this thread - inspirational! 
A couple of you mentioned that it’s not always helpful to wait for inspiration before you started - if you start working the inspiration will start flowing. I’m always falling into this trap - spending far too much time waiting for the perfect idea about what to do rather than just starting something. But once I get started it’s so motivating. Such a good reminder!
I’ve started an art journal recently and that has been a great way for me to get through the “just start something” barrier. The Art journaling craftalong has been amazingly helpful for that - having a Zoom time and tutorial means I don’t overthink what I’m doing, and playing around with the group is so fun and encouraging!
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Xx oops, please delete, off topic
Just rereading through this thread and lots of good advice in here!
I’m not sure if it counts as advice or is more about mindset but I like the phrase “it’s just paint and paper”. There will always be more paint and paper, you can always adjust it or start over. Nothing is precious, it’s just paint and paper.
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