i think i've mentioned this before but i posted on a fansite's oekaki board in the early to mid 2000s as a very young artist and got my art shamed so so so horribly that i stopped drawing for over a decade and a half. i consider it a miracle that i feel comfortable posting any art at all again.
please encourage young artists, please don't shame or embarass them. the effects can linger for so long and many people never break out of shame like that. i know so many people who just stopped and never started again.
it's kind of a fake idea because as long as i'm alive there's more time, but i can't help but feel like i "missed out" on so much drawing experience and growth and connections in that time
