Logged my 500th completed piece on Sunday and it stopped me cold

I've been doing digital art off and on for about 15 years. Nothing professional, just a hobby I pick up when I have time. I started a little spreadsheet back in 2018 to track what I finish, mostly to see if I was actually making progress. When I hit 500 last weekend, I sat there staring at the screen for a good five minutes. That number felt huge to me, considering I used to scrap half my work before finishing it. It made me think about all the little improvements that you don't notice day to day but add up over time. Has anyone else tracked their output like this and been surprised by the total?

3 comments

3 Comments

susan_wright343d ago

Honestly the spreadsheet thing is a great idea but I think you've got the dates a bit off. 2018 was only about 7 years ago, so 500 pieces in that time is more like 70 a year or roughly 6 a month. That's still a lot for a hobbyist but not as crazy as it sounds at first. I've been tracking my sketches since 2020 and I'm at like 180, so you've definitely been more consistent than me.

the_joseph3d agoMost Upvoted

...but I'm not sure tracking like that is actually helpful in the long run. I've seen a lot of artists get really hung up on numbers and it starts to mess with their head. You might be turning a fun hobby into a sort of chore or a competition with yourself. I mean, what does 500 pieces really mean if half of them are just quick sketches you threw in a spreadsheet to pad the count? Quality matters a lot more than how many you can churn out, and spending time on a single really good piece could be worth more than ten quick ones.

the_amy3d ago

Tbh @the_joseph I get the concern but tracking my stuff totally did the same thing to me, 500 pieces is huge.