How to ask someone to join a class without insulting them?
2mo
Michael Giff
Hello Proko land! Strange post... or maybe not so strange? I've been having a real rough time learning how to draw, like really, really rough. One of the biggest problems is that I can't find people that I jell with who kind of sucks like me that I can chat and draw with while slowly improving.
I've bought 2 course here (only survived 29 days in the gesture course) both labeled for beginners and well... I'm clearly in the bottom .00000001 percent of the class. It's hard to really connect with other classmates when they're a million miles ahead of you in competency and skill.
Thus brings me to my dilemma. I do (kinda/online acquaintances) know a couple of other adults that suck at drawing... like really suck.... suck like me. All flat, no form, awful colors, all the problems that I struggle with. I would love to convince them to take the Basic Course with me or some other beginner class but here is the rub. They seem happy with their art.
They have never conveyed any displeasure or contempt with their skill, they happily post and share their art online. I on the other hand, have made it very clear how much I hate my art and want it to improve. So now I feel weird asking them to join me in a class because it make it seem like I'm saying they should also be displeased with their work. Does this problem make any sense?
So to bring this long ramble to an end. How do you ask fellow adult artist to take a course with you without insulting their own art making ability? As an add on question how do you find other adult beginners that want to draw in a group?
Hey Michael!
I just want to say first that I really hear you. It takes courage to put this out there so honestly. A lot of us (myself included) knows what it feels like to look around and think we’re ‘the worst in the room. But struggling doesn’t mean you’re not growing, it means you’re right in the middle of learning.
About your friends, I think it’s beautiful that they’re happy with their art. That doesn’t mean you can’t invite them, though! You don’t have to frame it like, ‘you should fix your art too.’ You can frame it like, ‘I’d love to take this class with someone, would you be interested in joining me for fun?’ That way it’s about companionship, not judgment. Now if they seem hesitant or not interested, that's OK too! There are other ways to meet people who draw. Have you looked at meetup.com? There are online and in person invites where people meet to draw. There are also discord groups where people post their art.
And for finding other adult beginners... you’d be surprised how many of us feel exactly the way you do. Communities like this one are full of people quietly thinking, ‘I’m not good enough to post,’ even though they want to connect. Sometimes just sharing where you’re at and asking, ‘anyone want to learn together?’ is the spark that brings people out of hiding. I have felt this many times, but I always change the self talk from "I suck at this" to "I will improve, its OK to make mistakes, its OK if this takes me longer, its OK if I need to make thumbnails, exploration sketches before I fully commit."
You’re definitely not alone in this, even if it feels that way. Keep going the fact that you care this much about your growth already puts you on the right path.” I want to leave you with this.....what helps me is I just want to be at least 1% better each day!
Take care Mike! (I hope I can call you that lol)
Thanks for the meetup recommendation. Looks like I can join up with some folks there.
