What Separates A Pro From An Amateur

There are many telltale signs when it comes to judging artworks. But it’s not just the quality of the artwork that separates the master from the novices. There are many factors to consider before stamping someone with a tag.

Wasting Time

Most amateurs will wait for inspiration to come but a professional will work on their art on a daily basis.

It is not a bad thing to look for inspiration and make the best of your ideas, but you’re just wasting away if you don’t put an effort in your work and grow your mastery over the trade.

Being Distracted

An amateur will easily get distracted or stop too early in the process after making some headway in his work to ‘rest’. A professional will not stop until the last of his creativity has been drained and there is nothing left. 

Lack of Focus

Amateurs are always changing lanes and not focusing on one thing they want to master. But true masters know their strengths and continue to sharpen it EVERYDAY for their entire life. It’s a good thing to practice and experiment with new things, but you can’t master them all, no one can truly master anything, you can only be better than you were yesterday.

Disillusion of Fame

Most Amateurs are under the impression that whatever they make will sell. But it’s not the reality, even the most praised and successful artists have to face some struggle. In the end, it is a business and you need to know how to sell your work to be able to continue your work.

Lack of Discipline

Most amateurs have no routine, they think they need to be free-spirited to be more creative. But a professional knows the mind needs order and discipline to work at its optimum capacity.

Aiming for Perfection

It is an artist’s ideal to be perfect, but it’s only an ideal. Amateurs hopelessly try to achieve perfection in their craft, but professionals know it’s not possible, many famous artworks aren’t perfect, you can only hope to learn from your mistakes and be a bit more better than they were yesterday.

Always Learning, Barely Applying

Amateurs are always busy reading or learning about art that they don't have time to use all the ideas they learnt and they are forgotten. Any expert would know that there is always more to learn but would never neglect practicing and learning from his mistakes.

Avoiding other artists

Most amateurs will try to steer away other artists to try to be different or simply from envy or self-loathing. Professionals will be in the know of the community and the popular trends. And it is important as an artist to always be aware of the world to continue to find inspiration from the work of their fellow artists.

So to summarise, a professional artist is all about discipline, practice, learning and self-evaluation, to take all that and use it to be better. And to be a successful professional you need to be smart with your business choices in branding and finding the right admirers for your art and connecting with other artists and people to be aware of trends and use them to your best interest.