Beginner artist tips often focus on perfect technique—
But the real magic happens when you learn to embrace your messiest, most “ugly” art.
Today, it seems like everyone only shows their best art online. You see perfect drawings, clean pages, and fancy paintings. But here’s a secret: your worst drawings—the ones you want to hide—are actually a pathway to improvement.
What Messy Drawings Can Teach You
We all have drawings that didn’t turn out right. Maybe you drew a face that looks funny, or a flower that ended up looking more like a fish. That’s okay! These pages are not bad—they are practice.
Your “ugly” art shows:
- You’re brave (you tried something new!)
- You’re learning (you found out what doesn’t work)
- What tools or tricks you’ve mastered since then
- You have ideas (maybe this mistake will help with a better drawing later)
Fix It or Leave It?
Some people (myself included) like to cover up their mistakes by painting over them, gluing on paper, or taping a new page on top. That’s totally fine. Here’s another idea: don’t cover them. Leave your “bad” drawings there so you can:
- See how much you have improved later
- Try again and make something new out of it
- Remind yourself that everyone makes mistakes—even pros!
Your Sketchbook Is Like a Time Machine
If you write the date on every page (highly recommend), you can look back later and see how far you’ve come. That “bad” drawing from 6 months ago? It might show:
- How much better you are now
- What you were learning at the time
- What tools or tricks you’ve mastered since then
Even if you didn’t finish a drawing (like starting one of a flower that wilted), it still helped you practice looking and remembering.
Turn Mistakes Into Art
Instead of hiding your “ugly” pages, think of them as layers in your art story. When you paint over them with colors like gouache, you’re not ruining it—you’re making it better. Those weird lines and shapes underneath? They can become part of your style!
Beginner Artist Tips:
- Save a few pages just for messy, silly, or strange art frequently
- Go back to an old “bad” drawing later and add to it
- Write down what went wrong; this helps you grow
- Share your funniest or worst drawings with friends (make it fun!)
The Truth About Getting Better
Your sketchbook isn’t a gallery; it’s a gym. Nobody laughs at someone sweating at the gym. Ugly drawings? That’s just your creative muscles growing!
Weekly Art Challenge:
Every week, make one drawing that’s “bad” on purpose. Try something weird or hard. Then write down three things you learned from it. You might be surprised by what your “ugly” art can teach you!
Supplies Used to Make This Drawing:
The artwork in this post was made with ink, acrylic markers, and God given gifts of drawing and seeing things that others don’t.
- A gift of an intense love of colors, combinations of colors, and patterns.
- A gift of hypersensitivity to sounds, textures, and light levels.
- A gift of seeing clearly slight differences in color and tone and also feeling vibrations and tones in others.
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