Hey there!
So you’re scrolling through X again, looking at other artists’ work and this feeling comes back:
Why does everyone else seem to have it figured out already?
Here’s what’s actually happening: you’re drowning in advice that sounds impressive but doesn’t help and often conflicts with other advice. “Draw every day!” “Drawing every day is the worst advice!” – they say. Meanwhile, you’re just trying to figure out if you’re even good enough to call yourself an artist.
Most beginner advice completely misses what you actually need right now.
Today I’m sharing the 5 things that genuinely matter when you’re starting out.
Your biggest enemy isn’t your laziness – it’s the Resistance
That critical voice telling you you’re not ready is not wisdom talking.
It’s what Steven Pressfield calls “Resistance” – your brain’s built-in system designed to keep you away from radical change. Every time you sit down to create, this voice will invent a thousand reasons why you should reorganize your room instead.
The stronger this voice gets, the more important your work actually is.
Name it when it happens. Literally say “Oh, hello Resistance” and start creating anyway. You’re not trying to eliminate the fear, you’re learning to work alongside it.
“Getting good” happens during the boring parts
Social media makes it look like progress is all breakthrough moments and viral posts.
Mastery happens during what experts call “the plateau” – those long stretches where you’re practicing but don’t see dramatic improvement. This isn’t failure; it’s literally where the magic happens.
Most people quit during plateaus because they think they’re not progressing. But plateaus are where your brain is actually rewiring itself to handle more complex skills.
Fall in love with the process, not just the results. Set up a simple daily practice of even 15 minutes. And show up whether you feel inspired or not.
Done is better than perfect (seriously)
That piece you’ve been “working on” for three months? Ship it.
Here’s what perfectionism actually is: procrastination wearing a fancy disguise. Every hour you spend “perfecting” something is an hour you could spend making something new and learning from it.
The artists you admire online shipped hundreds of imperfect pieces and sketches. That’s literally how they got good – not by making one perfect thing, but by completing many imperfect ones. You can test this by scrolling down on one of your favorite artist’s gallery, you’ll see all that trial and error they went through to get to where they’re at now.
Set artificial deadlines for your work. When the deadline hits, post it. Done is the only version that teaches you anything.
Your obsessions are actually your superpowers
Is there that one character you love so much that you would draw them 10 times without loosing interest?
If you do, then that’s your key to break through the beginner stage very quickly. By drawing the same character or object over and over you slowly get used to its form, you can visualize it in 3d inside your head.
Whenever you’re trying something new you’re bound to face obstacles that seem insurmountable, and there’s a ton of them in the beginning.
That’s why you need to draw something you really care about a lot, this way you will improve your skills and have an awesome piece of art as a result! (Later you might look back and hate that art but that just means you’ve improved)
Start before you’re ready
Here’s what successful creators actually do differently: they start sharing their work before they feel qualified.
Not because they’re more confident – because they’ve learned that “ready” is a moving target that will always stay just out of reach.
Your job isn’t to become perfect and then start sharing. Your job is to start sharing so you can become better.
Art is a gift, and there are people out there who need that gift, even if you can’t see them yet.
