The First Time

From Reddit: “ I'm trying to learn how to draw, and I keep on wanting to give up because my drawing is not good enough yet, even though i've only just started to learn, I know it's irrational but I get annoyed when I see that it's not good enough yet. How do I get past this and "accept being a beginner" when learning a new skill?”

So this was my reply:

Imagine the artists that you admire. Think about the fact that what you're drawing now is similar to what they drew back many years ago, when they too had the same level of experience as you. Although you may not see it now, there's perhaps a time in the future when you'll look back and miss the days when everything was experimental and fresh and novel. A time where you would improve rapidly but steadily, and that changes were noticeable to not only you but the people around you. There may come a day when only other professional artists notice the little improvements between today's work and tomorrow's work. But today is a day that you should have fun, because there's no point in trying to get good at something if the only thing it brings you is continual frustration.

There may also come a point where after a certain number of rough tries, you'll become proficient enough that it starts to turn into fun, after getting through the basics. But I think one way to think about this is to savour this time in your life where you're only this bad at something once - because for drawing, you'll never get to go through this first time again.”