There are a lot of bad drawings in the world. A lot.

Unskilled, uninformed, uninspiring, unsophisticated, primitive, and naïve.

A lot of bad drawings.

But good drawings exist too; they exist because someone chose to work through the bad drawings. No one starts with inherent skill. It’s learned. And it’s learned by diving in. That is, by first making bad drawings. Lots of them.

And then, over time, the work gets better.

So many creative pursuits are this way. They involve a period — sometimes a long, awkward period — where the work is less-than. Where the maker struggles. Where the chasm between where we are and where we want to be is vast.

But those who stay the course make progress. Those who remain students become masters. Little by little, a portfolio of learning becomes a collection worth sharing.

It often begins by making bad drawings.