I mean I can afford chicken nuggets but its like the people you admire say no and when you find people who do want to trade, a lot of the time it's people worse than you. I know I should be grateful that I can even art trade but it's something that irks me.
Edit: And by worse I mean not giving a shit on what they draw bc lol free art
I know the feeling xD Sometimes it is really hard to find someone to do an art trade with you. And I am always feeling bad if I need to say no because a stick man figure is not a trade :c Some people also never do their part. I became skeptical trusting other artists and never show my part first in full resolution.
My AT partners only get a tiny version first so they know, that I am done with my part. The get the big version when they finished their part and I got it.
I don't think anyone should compare their art to other people art and call it "better" or "worst" tbh 🤔! You can only really compare your art with your own stuff, as your the one creating it, learning from it etc. Comparing art will making you feel bad while learning from others people's art (by studying it or thinking by yourself 'what would I do to make this piece look different.') is the best way of learning. Creating art isn't a competition, you don't have to be "good" at it to have fun! I get that it's frustrating if you can't find any art trade partners, but cherish the ones you can find and learn from the way they draw things.
I know it must be hard! ;^;
I have a good explanation to why artists might not accept trades sometimes, but i'll keep it under spoilers because it's quite long;
I used to wonder why wouldn't people with really nice art trade with other people with less experience, but consider:
Most artists who have really good quality drawings and a good grasp on the art fundamentals either work with art full-time, or have real life jobs and other things that keep them busy (i'm saying this because a really experienced artist takes years to learn, so you probably won't find anyone that's a high level pro at a super young age, and even the youngest ones, like, 15 might be very busy with school, etc). So, they need to optimize their time.
A lot of artists won't even trade with anyone unless friends, because they need the time to spend on things that are more useful to them (like selling commissions), something they can benefit from in real life.
Even the ones who do trade have reason for that. You see, a high skilled artist takes hours to finish a drawing, since they put a lot of quality and effort to it. And a drawing from someone less skilled will often take less time, and come out with less quality than their art. So, i know it feels upsetting to not be accepted in a trade with some artists, but keep in mind it also might feel really frustrating to them to spend hours, maybe days on a drawing they are doing pratically for free, getting in the middle of their commission schedule, or even job/real life schedule.
For some of them, it might feel like playing with someone at a younger age Like a 20 years old person playing with a 10.
I, myself, tend to refuse art trades when i'm busy or overloaded with commissions so it doesn't get in the way of my agenda.
Also, a little secret, something i found out that actually works is to contact multiple artists which you admire and ask them for trades. Be sure to be nice and explain why you want to trade/how long you've been admiring their art for, and that you don't mean to bother them or get in the way of their schedule, if they don't have the time to do it. It usually works, and at least one of them tends to accept the trade. You get a bigger chance. Don't give up!
Last of all is to never compare yourself to other people, as Fizz said, or dismiss other people because you think they're at an inferior level.
At this point, I don't even know anymore. Sometimes I draw something akin to the mona lisa while getting back a stick figure, sometimes they draw the mona lisa and get back a stick figure (figuratively) and sometimes were on the same level.
Trading is a barter exchange. It works well if the economic value of the items being traded is the same.
When I trade with a stranger, it's the same as doing a different commission and then using the cash to buy the art I'm trading for. Due to the difference in skill level, a quick sketch from me might be worth a full color piece from the other artist or vice versa.
The awkward thing is, a newer artist with room for trades doesn't yet have a proven reputation of reliability, so I never buy more than 20usd or about an hour of trade work. That way, if I never get the product, it's no big deal.
An experienced artist with a good reputation who can be trusted to deliver the product usually needs the cash and doesn't have room for trades, so I just buy the art outright unless that person wants to buy from me also.
When I trade with friends, it's more like a gift exchange, so the value doesn't matter, but they also won't care if I'm late or never finish my part, just like they wouldn't care if I forgot to get them a birthday gift.
With an attitude like that, you're lucky anyone wants to do an art trade with you.
I don't know what you expect to gain from posting this? People to feel sorry for you and do an art trade with you? All you're going to do is make people less likely to do one with you, because who knows, they might be one of those "worse artists" that you'll just complain about.
I'm trying to not be rude but I don't want to spend 5 hours on a piece and get a stick figure in return
Agreeing with Wonder, it's one thing to be frustrated if someone doesn't put effort into an art trade piece! That's completely understandable. But there's no need for you to publicly vaguepost about people calling them "worse" than you.
Simplified with Explanations Removed:
If you are trading as a purchase, you get what you pay for.
If you are trading for fun as a gift exchange, you can't have expectations about the quality of gift that you receive.