The picture pretty much explains itself.

I'm doing this because I'm tired of artists who seem to have no faith in themselves and forget that all those skilled artists they look up to were once like them. So you think you suck? EVERYONE sucked at one point in their lives. Back when I was 16, my drawing and character design skills were very mediocre, as you can see. If I can improve this much in just three years, anyone can.

Of course, as my teacher would say, "Practice does not make perfect -- PERFECT practice makes perfect." If you keep doing things the wrong way over and over again, chances are, you won't go far. So get out there and learn!

UPDATED 11.12.2007
When I first uploaded this picture in 2003, I got a great response. People sent me notes and e-mails telling me how this has inspired them to keep trying their best instead of giving up on their art. Some have even printed it out and put it up on their walls as a motivational reminder.

When I entered the month of November this year, I thought it would be neat to do yet another redesign of this bunny boy. He is neglected, but he's one of my first original characters, so drawing him again was a nostalgic feeling.

The 2003 version feels too "Final Fantasy" to me and doesn't suit his character, but I did like certain elements. The newest version is a combination of '00 and '03 Damien. He looks like he's grown a bit older, too.

UPDATED 10.30.2009
A little early -- It's not quite November yet, but I'm updating this now because in November I'm going to be too busy inking the official Last Airbender prequel manga (tight deadline).

I originally put up this deviation in 2003 when I was still just a student fresh out of high school. Honestly, I didn't think I'd update this after 2007, but as the picture states, I've been on a fast track in my career and I'm now an Eisner Award winner. I thought it was a significant point in my progress as an artist, so here we are.

It's 2009 now and I've redesigned Damien again...sort of. This time, instead of changing his design, I redrew him in his old design from 2000, standing there as he did back then instead of using a more interesting pose.

I always thought his 2000 design was hideous, but it holds up surprisingly well! I guess it goes to show that any design can look good so long as it's well-executed. I'm surprised by how much my style has changed in the past two years; I didn't think it did very much before I drew this.

I'll update this the next time I feel it appropriate to.