hey creators! do you like your old stuff?

I am not a musician in any sense but when I am inspired I will hack away on my actual keyboard and try to recreate what ever was in my head but I digress. In any case, after I am done with the tracks, I usually am mixed with feelings of pride for it sounding amazing and at the same time, disgust for it sounding like garbage. So today going back and listening to all my stuff (because I got a guy who commented "awesome" :D on soundcloud), I was actually pretty happy and almost impressed by how good some of my stuff was, and I feel like this is not the first time I have had this happen. On the other hand, with my photoshops, I have no such love, maybe that is because those are not from scratch?

EDIT: hey mod's I forgot to set this thread into off topic... help?

Ask Noah

@super2j: Sure. Though, it's normal for an artist to notice more of a work's flaws and perhaps internalize them in a way that makes someone more inclined to think ill of their work. An artist is commonly their biggest critic. Ultimately, it's like looking at past versions of yourself. They're pieces of what make you who you are, and that isn't always a picture you fully like. And sometimes you've just changed so much that who you used to be seems alien to you.

But then, as in your case, sometimes you can reflect back on the past and appreciate it for what was good. And that is often how creations are perceived over time by their creator.

Nope.

@truthtellah: Whenever I read something I wrote I always have a smile on my face; what insight that person had! What wisdom! They had us write a letter to ourselves at the end of high school that I received after college; most of what I said was spot on. I find it amusing that people hate themselves so much; fairly counterproductive in my estimation. You make mistakes sure but the amount you change at the core of your person isn't that tremendous for most people, ergo not liking one of your former self is akin to not liking your present self; and even people with above average self esteem seem to have this issue; bizarre.

As a writer, I never like anything I've done in the past. Even if I did it a week ago, or a day ago, I read it back and think: "What the hell was I thinking."

The way you put it kind of sounds like a sociopath, but perhaps I am mistaken. We all make mistakes in our past and have imperfections that we have grown away from; so, it's natural to dislike some parts of who you were. But that doesn't mean someone has to dwell on such things or feel that they are limited by them. That's when it's unhealthy. You can still recognize your own problems in the past and present while loving the totality of who you are, flaws and all.

That is normal in our society. Personally I think it stems from fear. Fear of being ridiculed by the quality of your work, as you never know how your work and you will be perceived by others - many artists talk about their work as exposing themselves -, and desire of comfort, prefering to believe the work you put out isn't good enough, and not worth your attention nor of others.

That's why people need to distance themselves from their work to really appreciate it. In that disconnection it becomes alien to you, and is almost like it was made by someone else.

That's what I think. I feel the same thing sometimes, but I tend to fight it. Although I really like my old stuff.

@truthtellah: The funny part is that I am a total amateur and all the cool stuff i end up doing are by accident, which i then capitalize on. As a result when I look back on old stuff, most of the time I dont think "why did I do that", I think "how did I do that". For example, drums are the bane of my existence and I have no idea what to do about them or how to apply them. So on one specific track, the level at which I applied the drums and the effects I placed on it make it hard to believe I did it... and I WAS there when those drum tracks were made (by me).

@super2j: heh. That's understandable. I'm a painter, and I have a similar issue. Even professional artists can have a problem with recapturing former strokes of genius(or strokes of luck). Ultimately, you can't get too held up on recapturing something that you once did. Instead, you have to focus on doing your own thing today. Do what comes naturally today, and it's likely that you'll come across strokes of luck even better than before. Or, to be more accurate, -different- than before. :)

Seeing your old work can be quite the catharsis when you're feeling down about a current project and just going back to see where you've come from can be a great boost.

No.

I have never liked anything I did. Back when I used to draw or do 3D work I always hated what I ended up with no matter how hard I worked. People would always tell me it was good but I never believed them and felt like they were just saying that to be polite. I have always set goals for myself that were higher than what most people set I feel. When I stop to think about it I realize they are really unfair and unrealistically high bars, but I feel like anything else is a waste of time.

The bar I set for myself is that when my work is done I need to be able to step back from what I made, look at it, and ask myself what if I was scrolling around the internet and came across this photos? If I saw this posted somewhere would I take the time to stop and admire it or would I just keep scrolling past it and not give it a second glance? Unless the answer is stop and admire it I think it's garbage.

College destroyed the life long love and interest I had in drawing and 3D work, and I have not done anything artistic since. When I was doing it however I never felt like I reached a level that I could look at what I made and think that it was good.