Week 8 // Making Art Everyday // Year Two • Bardot Brush

Week Eight

Overwhelm. Comparison. Lack of inspiration. Imposter Syndrome. Criticism. Insecurity. Perfectionism. Fear of “doing it wrong,” being “unoriginal,” or not being “good enough.” The list of fears when it comes to creativity is long. No matter how talented, skilled, or experienced we might be, WE ALL FEEL THESE.

Sooner or later, you will hit a wall where the intensity of your fears will take over your desire to create. For some, it happens before they even get started. For others, it happens after trying for a while and causes them to give up. I wish I could insert some magical way to keep going despite the fear. The truth? Practicing creativity can be amazing and fulfilling, but it’s NOT easy. Creativity requires bravery. And being brave isn’t about being unafraid, but instead choosing to act in the face of fear. You have to push through and choose to keep going every day.

Think of your fears like the voice of an annoying, overbearing acquaintance. Roll your eyes behind their back and carrying on doing what you do. CHOOSE TO ACT. Keep moving forward, keep making art.

What to Do

One of the best ways to quell your fears is to give them a voice. Say them out loud or write them down. Once you do, it’s a little easier to see that they are unfounded OR that there are steps you can take to overcome them. Take stock of the fears that stop you from being creative. Maybe share a few next time you post a piece of art you made! You will quickly see that you are not alone in how you feel.

February Prompts

Unusual Animals

Last week was pretty concept-focused and character-heavy, so for Week 8, I thought it would be a nice change to focus on technique. As we continue with our animal drawings, this week’s “plus” is ZOOM. It can be overwhelming to draw an entire animal, so I want you to zoom in and focus on drawing just part of the animal. There are lots of ways you can approach this week’s “plus.”

Draw the animal in a cropped composition, much like zooming in with a camera. Crop to show just the upper body, face, etc.
Focus in on depicting the texture of the animal, be it fur, feathers, scales, etc.
Draw just a body part: eyes, feet, nose, beak, claws, tail, etc.

I’m sure you can come up with other ideas too! Think of this as more of a study than creating a polished composition. This type of narrowing down and focusing in on small pieces can be a huge help when you want to get to work on more detailed or more ambitious drawing.

As always, feel free to customize the prompts to work best for you! If you feel like drawing the whole animal or approaching the prompt in a different way, go for it!

Week 8 | Feb 17-23

Animals + Zoom

Mon: cat
Tue: bird
Wed: fish
Thu: mouse
Fri: turtle
Sat: walrus
Sun: lizard

You can access each week’s prompts at makingarteveryday.com

Making Art Everyday // Bardot Brush

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