I just want to say that I know what you're feeling. Hell, there's probably not a soul here who hasn't had the same experience at least once. It kind of comes with being an artist. But I can really only speak for myself, so let me say that I've been at this whole music thing for more or less a year now and I'm still nowhere near the type of musician I want to be. There are moments where I get stuck in the "I can't do anything original" or "I'll never be half the composer this person is" mindset. Fortunately, though, I've noticed that they happen less the more I learn about the craft and build up my confidence. Before we can be great artists, we must merely be good ones.
But I was also taught a very important lesson: do not compare yourself to other artists. It's one of the most counterproductive and self-sabotaging things you can do. It's a trap I've fallen into multiple times and it has never done me any good. Never. All it did was demoralize me and distract me from my work. No matter how similar you consider yourself to another, you are entirely different people and their training/experiences/motivations will not be the same as yours. And that's perfectly okay. It's one thing to be inspired by another artist's work but it's quite another to use them to judge yourself. Fine, so someone is "better" than you (or so you believe, even though art is largely subjective), but that's not what matters. What matters isn't how far along the trail we are, but whether we are still moving forward.
There's another thing which might be part of it: I don't think you're having enough fun. That probably sounds really trite, but I mean it. Making fan art shouldn't be such so stressful. We do it because we want to show our appreciation for something and to share our work with other fans, right? Many of us have musical career aspirations but don't feel that we're ready to enter the professional world yet so we build up our skills here. You hope to be a better artist - that's great! It's a very noble quality but before that can happen we first need to (often very slowly) hone our skills and learn as much as we can. This site allows for just that, while at the same time having fun and making friends (as goofy as that may sound). This isn't a conservatory nor is it boot camp; it's an easygoing community of artists who wish to be better. So read through the posts here, ask questions, do whatever it is you need in order to be a better artist. I've posted it before, but it's too good not to share again. It's a quote from Ira Glass:
If you're not inspired to write pony songs then don't. By no means do you have to make your songs pony in order to stay here, if that has been worrying you. It's more important for you follow your inspiration. If you're not feeling inspired at all, then just step away for a while and see how you feel. Knowing when to take breaks is just as important as the work itself. If making music isn't what you want to do, then don't make music anymore. Or if you just don't want to pursue it on a professional level, then don't do that. No pressure either way. Every artist must figure out for him or herself what it is that drives them. Don't feel that you're letting anyone down by walking away because art is about expressing whatever is inside of us. Remember, if you didn't feel anything making it then they won't feel anything listening to it.
Long story short, don't stress yourself so much and focus more on making friends and having fun. Everything else will come in time.
Anyway, I hope some of that could help.
