As part of your daily art practice, there will be some pieces you create that you just don’t like. Maybe it didn’t come out the way you imagined in your head. Maybe you’re a developing artist, and you’re still working on your drawing skills. Maybe it just looks…off. Whatever the reason, you finish the day feeling a little disappointed with what you made.

1. ​This is COMPLETELY NORMAL and a part of the creative process.
2. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn something!

When you find yourself unsatisfied with your art and feeling discouraged, here’s what you do: look at your piece and say, “I like this ONE THING.” Pick out one thing. It could be the way those two colors look next to each other. It might be the look of that one brush stroke. Maybe you liked the way you approached shading that day. Or the way you depicted the texture of one particular part of your drawing. Perhaps it’s the way you drew that nose, or that leaf, or that or that background. Identify that ONE THING…then use it again in another drawing!

Most of the time, this process of re-using small wins is happening without you even noticing. If you look back through old work, you might even be able to identify the first time you started drawing something a certain way. It’s pretty cool once you start noticing!