A Sketching Exercise to Overcome the Fear of Failure

I intuitively started doing this exercise a few years ago and I found that it helped me to overcome fear of making mistakes and also drawing with pen & ink. But I believe it can help you no matter what medium you enjoy drawing with. It's a simple exercise, so it's worth trying and seeing what it can do for you and your art.

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⌚️Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
1:06 The Exercise
2:00 How to Start
2:51 Materials
3:45 Why Use a Brushpen
4:46 The Idea Behind It
5:41 Why It's Effective
6:20 The Takeaway
7:55 Conclusion

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[dianeo]

I love this advice. Dedicating a sketchbook to drawing the same subject in pen not only helps you get over the fear of making mistakes but also will improve your handling of that art supply and improve your drawing skills. Kitty is a great subject. On a side note, my 21 year old tabby cat passed away a couple weeks ago. A real Treasure each day and drawing of Kitty.

[lorenbk]

I’m a retired illustrator and graphic artist that shut my computer about three years ago to get back to drawing that I love. I’ve been struggling with expecting too much and it stifles me. I stopped your video, went to my art supplies, and found a cheap sketchbook and brush pen. Tomorrow I’m starting this exercise! PS, I did come back and finish the video!

[thecartoonrobot]

The best thing I have ever done regarding my art was to embrace my mistakes. Perfectionism was crippling me. I also have essential tremors in my hands, and always have. And I fought them for so long (and still can if needed) but once I allowed them to influence and impact my art, I could finally breathe and just let things flow. Now it is just a part of my personal style.

[DeadWolve]

The beautiful thing about art is you never know the struggle behind it. We never know how many tries the artist made before they published that finished art piece that we see on the internet, heck even the museum. I think that’s the beauty about art.

[Groinattack]

When I first started learning to draw I used pencil and spent the whole time erasing. Then I saw a video from Sketchbook Skool talking about the benefits of using pen when learning to draw. Got myself a fineliner and have never looked back!

[dolores]

I just recently finished a sketchbook that was all my cats. I found that even on drawings that I felt were disasters while I was working on them, that after some time had passed and I looked at them I had captured some essence of the cat. I don't really know how to say it, but every drawing had some value.

[roshnifernandes]

I absolutely love this. I am an animator and an artist and I recently have started fearing the pencil. I have gotten way too critical of my drawings and it has completely stopped me from drawing. Listening to this video, I quickly purchased the ink pens and stapled together a bunch of half cut sheets to make my sketchbook. Luckily for me my office has 2 absolutely adorable impatient cats and I have been drawing them over and over again whenever I get time. I have also started filling my mini sketchbook with things I find in the office. This is an amazing advice. Thanks a bunch😊

[jasond.b-w]

Back when I was still trying to draw, I had *countless* sketchbooks exactly like this— for me it was dedicated to drawing single lines. I never made it to the point of actually being able to do that because of disability (I’ve also never been able to learn how to write, and needed a stamp marker to make dots because my brain just isn’t capable of figuring out that motion.)

I had to accept that learning art just isn’t possible for me after failing at lines and the three simple shapes for ten years of study & seven of daily practice with no improvement — but I owe a lot to these sketchbooks for helping me to feel more secure about that decision. I still feel miserable about it, and I’m still as desperate to fix myself as I was when I was drawing…

…but because I have this evidence of spending tens of thousands of hours on the same subjects (lines, curves, and less often squares/circles/rectangles) and only getting worse at them, I don’t feel like I’m just not trying or giving up. I know that I exhausted every option, every method, every lesson I could find and the answer is simply that my disabilities are not compatible with drawing. I don’t blame myself anymore, and as a childhood trafficking victim self-blame for literally everything from the weather being bad to major tragedies in my country is a daily issue in my life.

It sounds really stupid to waste dozens of sketchbooks on nothing but horribly failed lines (and to be grateful you did!) but I really do think they taught me the most out of anything I’ve done with my life as an adult—even if none of it was actually about drawing. Even though I can’t continue with art, I’m glad I tried and failed it this way instead of any other, and I def recommend anyone else who isn’t sure if drawing is for them or not to give this a go! If you _can_ learn, you will, and if you can’t you’ll have proof of your efforts. Best of luck! x

[limaceaae]

Thank you for this advice. I suffer from the same fear you’ve described in the beginning. I got stuck with my material, waiting for the “perfect” moment to use it. I’ve a notebook for watercolor which remains untouched for several months now, just because I don’t want to “waste” it. Will try to overcome this terrible mindset.

[michaelmcewan]

I started off with pen and ink, massively helped me use any medium, same for sketch books

[bagwon]

I started practicing in earnest a couple months ago and what you're saying resonates. I'm putting terrible marks on pages and they'll be that way forever and anyone who ever glances at it will see the indisputable evidence. It's a challenge to swallow my pride, but it's good, because I can see improvement already. Like, "oh you think that one's mediocre, let me show you the ones before it!" 😂

[esCodepl]

Thank a lot bro…❤ untill this vid I was thinking sth realy wrong with me, always afraid to waste a paper or markers…so I got a ton of stuff never used since my young years 🤪 now ppl like us may know, we are not alone. Especially reading comments. Now I now why wanted to buy a cheaper sketchbook for wasting it a little easier 😂 It's very supportive what you do. Really. Thanks again.

[Silverbell]

Ive been hearing a lot lately about this sort of practice, & have even been trying to use it, wat with the insecurities I have. But its got me noticing that i have this fear of mistakes in every day life too. And constantly hearing artists say "mistakes are normal" is becoming oddly therapeutic for life as a whole. 😂 So thank u. This vid was particularly nice. :3

[egg]

I'm an industry artist and recently broke out of a multiple year long art block through urban sketching and drawing from life. My weapon of choice is a fountain pen because I love the line quality and fine detail I can get, but I've got to try just bringing a brush pen sometime. Fully support all the advice in this video, in particular embracing mistakes. Drawing traditionally can be so cathartic when you accept you're not fully in control - ink will splatter and smudge, brushes have a mind of their own, there's no ctrl+z or infinite zoom. In the current digital landscape where many would rather generate AI art than pick up a pencil, sketching from life feels so incredibly human.

[jack-fmlb]

nice man. I hit a point in January where drawing became unbearably tedious because of my stiffness, so I did a drawing with an ink brush to challenge myself, intentionally super messy and mistake filled. Turned out way cooler, evolved my style and revitalized my love of drawing.

[edzejandehaan]

Good advice. I like to do line and wash. In itself nothing wrong with sketching in pencil first, but I find myself obsessing over "getting it right", erasing and drawing over and over. This often results in a rather stiff drawing. Directly inking, and not obsess over "misstakes" often gets looser and more spontaneous work.

[DianaStitching]

This great advice can be applied in so many areas of life. If you want to be a writer, write on paper with a pen, rather than on a computer. That way, you won't be able to constantly edit everything you write, and your imagination can flow freely. 😊

[MattBookbinder]

This has been a process I've tried to follow for a few months now. Your tips really help. THANKS

[carrikartes]

Thank you this is akin to something I did a few years ago.
What I found helpful was doing a 10 minute sketch a day for a month. I set a timer and sketch for exactly 10 minutes not anymore or any less.
It was pretty revelatory.
I then posted each day no matter how successful or unsuccessful I was.
It really helped me to loosen up and speed up too.
It was very valuable for me.
I tried whatever media or subject matter.
Some sketches were great and some were down right awful.
It was very freeing.

[susanjacquier]

Well! I have to thank the YT gods for recommending you..such an inspirational video. I have sketched, and journaled for the better part of 65 yrs, but have allowed 'life' to sidetrack me lately. I feel energised to pick up a pen again. Thank you.