066: Be Bad to Get Real Good
Before I jump into the main topic, some housekeeping
🔥 We’re only 8 members away from reaching our goal of 50 members of the DAILY DRAWING CLUB. In case you didn’t know, we’re slowly building the raddest drawing club on the planet. Join us at drawordie.co!
💥 I’m adding a special mini-podcast to the Daily Drawing club. Some added motivation, inspiration and stories… for members only. So, you know, I may talk about stuff I wouldn’t normally talk about.
🏴☠️ DRAW OR DIE IRL!!! Our first Draw Club meetup in person is Tuesday evening in Pittsburgh. Come hang if you’re in the area. Details on the FB Event
OKAY now on to today’s topic….
Be Bad to Get Good…
You’ve all probably heard “practice makes perfect”, but that’s actually a lie.
No doubt, practice WILL make you improve. You SHOULD be drawing every damn day. But chasing perfection is like chasing rainbows.
Perfection is an illusion, and perfection is the enemy of the good.
Artists often hold back on pushing forward because they feel like their art isn’t good enough. Or you want to pursue something, but you feel your bad at it. And you might indeed be bad at it…. at least right now.
And that’s the real secret. You DO have to be willing to be bad before you can get really good.
And the only way to do that is to dive right the fuck in. No fear. No judgement of your own work. Really be studious about whatever the thing is you’re desiring to do.
And it’s not about being a beginner or a pro. Even old pros get stuck in this mud.
Quick example. In my case THose POSCA art paint markers. I bought a few a few months ago and haven’t even opened them.
The URGE and desire to learn was there for sure. I had seem some amazing art being made on instagram with them. It looked like fun. But… I didn’t even start. Why?
Well, honestly it’s partly because I’m really friggin’ busy 😂 and I’m saying YES to too many things right now. But the other side is… I too was afraid I’d be really bad at it.
Writing this now, is a reminder that I should carve out some time to explore those. I had totally forgotten the urge I had to explore those. And now I will.
Would-Be, Could-Be, Shoulda-Beens…
I encounter a lot of artists who say “I always wanted to try drawing comics, but…”
And it’s always the same. They just think they won’t be good enough at it, so why even bother starting.
The only way to make comics is to start making comics. In comics particularly, you might hear old pros say you have to get 1000 BAD pages out of you until you really start the good ones. And a 1000 more until the GREAT ones come.
Or they say… MAYBE NEXT MONTH…. MAYBE WHEN X HAPPENS, THEN I CAN Y, AND THEN I WILL FINALLY Z.
Newsflash, a little reminder for you… your time is limited.
Tomorrow is NOT promised.
Stop putting these things you want to do deep down off.
You gotta start… TODAY.
We’ve been programmed to expect instant results
Isn’t it crazy that we live in a society where everyone wants INSTANT results all the time? Your meal better be delivered SUPER FAST! And it better taste damn good.
You launch a social media account and give up of feel “bad” when nobody follows you or engages with your work. That voice inside might say. “you just weren’t good enough, nobody gives a shit about you. You’re an imposter.”
You want to pick up POSCA MARKERS and instantly crap out masterpieces onto a page? How unrealistic are we all?
Maybe you can’t draw animals.
Or feet. (Rob Liefeld 😂 )
Here’s the truth.
Getting GOOD takes some time and dedication.
It doesn’t have to take a lot of time.
It can be just 10 minutes a day, just drawing something small.
Getting to GREAT just takes consistency and more time.
It takes dedication and a willingness to be wrong, while keeping an open mind.
Getting to Perfect? That’s complete fantasy.
The Patience…the Craft.
I don’t know about any of you, but I suspect a few of you know what I’m about to say is true. There’s something awesome about taking the time to dedicate yourself to a craft.
In drawing, it’s learning the subtle art of the illusion. How do you make things “pop off the page”. How do you bend light without light? How can random lines on a piece of paper, or blocks of black make a person FEEL something when they look at it?
That’s the magic. That’s the craft.
Artists are like magicians, slowly learning those spells.
What about you?
What are you avoiding because you think you’re bad at it? I challenge YOU to start working on something you’ve been putting off.
It’s time to dive in.
🔥This Week’s Drawing CHALLENGE!
is…
BAD TO THE BONE.
What’s the first thing that pops into your head? DRAW IT!!! Then POST it somewhere, and tag #drawordieclub - Even if you think it’s not good enough. Remember… just not YET. But you gotta be bad to get good.
✏️☠️♣️Join the DAILY DRAWING CLUB!!!
Just your weekly reminder to join the daily club. CHECK IT OUT HERE!
Don’t forget! We have a YOUTUBE Channel! You can watch a version of today’s newsletter that just posted!
Stay encouraged out there, and draw every day!!!
☠️ Draw or Die MERCH!
✏️ DIGITAL TOOLS FOR ARTISTS: Custom Brushes, Templates & Prompts
▶️ DRAW or DIE on YOUTUBE (Tutorials & more)
Oh I like this week’s post. Long ago I just did pencil drawings and shaded )minimally) I wasn’t keen on coloring, not confident enough in which ones to use etc. Starting up college again some ten years after graduating high school I took an oil painting class, and not only did I find confidence to experiment with colors, but a new skill learned. Painting. Fast forward to some years later, I went full on learning different techniques and art forms to create art. Printmaking, digital, more figure drawing, sculpture. I’m comfortable using any medium these days, and no fear of color either lol. Took a while lol.
Lmao, poor Rob. Huge unwieldy guns, all those pouches on his characters, and yeah can’t draw an ankle to save his life. As anatomically incorrect as his characters are (Captain America), the man is still drawing and making bucks. What an anomaly lol.