Drawings and Such + Why It’s Okay to Make Bad Art

| Allison

YAY, I am so excited to share some of my recent art with you guys! I’ve been drawing a lot lately, and I think I’ve really been improving, so that’s good. 😉

Also, before we start I wanted to mention this super good video (which I’ll show you in a moment) by Hullo Alice that talks about why it’s okay if not every piece of art turns out perfect. I thought it was such a good message!

Sometimes when people try to make art and it doesn’t end up looking like the idea in their head or they search the web and find soooo many better artists out there, they just give up, and think, “I’ll never be good at art, so what’s the use of trying?” The use of trying is that you WILL get good at art if you give yourself a chance. You might not ever get as good as the professional art you love looking at on Pinterest, but you’ll certainly be a terrible artist if you never try.

Listen, before you make some good art, you’re going to make (a lot of) bad art. That’s just how it works with anything – art, music, math, anything you try to learn. And that’s okay. Making bad art is part of the process of getting to be a good artist. If the piece you’re working on is terrible, just let it go, turn the page, and start again. You’ll get better if you keep trying over and over again, I can promise you that.

Okay, now that that little rant was over and you (hopefully) watched the video, I can show you my art. 🙂 I decided to include some of my “bad art” (although not my worst XD) in this post too.

Let’s get started!

I shall start with some of my favorite art I’ve created – a zentangle elephant. 🙂 It took me FOREVER to draw this, as you can probably guess. XD I had just purchased a new fine-tip pen at Hobby Lobby, and it was great for detailed work like this!

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I also made a mandala in a similar style. I think it turned out so pretty! It’s probably the best mandala I’ve done, because usually they get pretty skewed. XDmandala art

Another mandala.. YIKES sorry for the terrible picture. O.o

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Next up we have a little design I made for Livy’s magazine here (which you should totally check out!)

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I’m also submitting this for the next issue of her magazine. 🙂 I had a lot of fun with this one!

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I’m not really sure what I think of the next piece… I guess it’s neat, but it didn’t really turn out like I was hoping. :/ Oh well! Waterfalls are really hard to draw, aren’t they?

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OOH! I love this drawing I did of the lovely Aria from purrfectlyinspired.com. It’s the best portrait I’ve done, I think!

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Okay, here’s something I drew from you guys’ suggestions: a fairy. In the spirit of the post, I shall show you the two horrible renditions it took before I got it to turn out right. XD (I used them for testing pens and stuff, in case you were wondering. 😉 )

Actually the first sketch isn’t that bad… just, well, a sketch.

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AHH SO CREEPY. Her face got smudged and made it look even more awful. XD

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But finally that bad art enabled me to draw a good piece. Muuuuch better, yes? I hope you like the fairy, Sylvia!

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So for this one I was trying to draw something interesting without using any reference photos. Well I sure paid for that with how her legs turned out. XD YUCK. I could NOT get the foreshortening and angle and all that stuff right, so I just called it good enough and finished the picture. 😛 I like the rest of it, though!

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Some little water drop doodles from this amazing tutorial. You might think these are good until you see what I was looking off of. XD

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Here’s a (pretty rough) concept sketch I did for a possible WordCrafters cover. What do you think? Do you like the idea of all the characters lined up like that? Also I need a better tagline. XD Tell me your ideas! I’ll also do a more in-depth post when I’m ready to start editing WordCrafters.

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Heh heh, do you like my play on words? Unfortunately the ink ran all over the place, but it’s okay because it wasn’t my best picture or anything. (It looks like the horse is shooting ink out of her nostrils. XD)

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Ooh, this one is funny! I made this birthday card for my sister Megan who loves donkeys.

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Ha ha! Yeah, I had fun with that. Although it took quite a while to draw the donkeys inside the card. O.o

Next we have a page of doodles. I picked a couple of random colors from my watercolor brush pen set and drew this. WHY DO THINGS LIKE THIS ALWAYS TAKE SO LONG?!

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Here’s some bad-ish art. It got kind of all blurred together. :/

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BWAHAHA this did NOT turn out right. Poor, failed pineapple. XD

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Lookee it’s a cute wittle hedgehog from Clara’s suggestions! 🙂

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Random watercolor doodle…

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Blech, some more bad art. I very much dislike the color scheme – or lack of one.

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I’m really happy with this one, though! I thought it turned out pretty cute. 🙂 My watercolor brush pens are so fun for drawings like this.

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A doodle/test page.

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I haven’t finished this one and don’t know if I will or not, but this was drawn from a photograph of dew drops on a flower.

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I really like how this turned out! My best horse picture so far, definitely. It’s a picture of my friend K. A.‘s horse, Gadget.

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few more pages from my Bible journal… (would you like to see another whole post about it?)

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Here are the ATCs I made for Hayley’s ATC trade (now closed).

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ATC 2 (1280x903)

ATC 3 (1280x943)

And lastly, we have another rendition of the moonrise galaxy painting I did here.

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And that’s about it! As for the bad art, some of you are probably rolling your eyes and saying, “Allison, seriously? You call that bad art?” Well I’ve done worse art – believe me. I just didn’t show it. XD Anyway, I know the feeling. I see “bad art” from other artists and I’m like “WHOA I wish I could draw that well!” And so you see, it depends on your perspective. Your bad art might be more beautiful than you think. ♥

I hope you enjoyed this post! Which pieces were you favorite? Do you have any suggestions for what I should draw next?

***Allison***

P. S. My county fair post is coming up next! 🙂

162 thoughts on “Drawings and Such + Why It’s Okay to Make Bad Art”

  1. Oh, that video is so inspiring! I agree — in order to get better, you have to start out “bad”, but it’s hard to get in that mindset when you just want to get “good” already! 😛 LOVE your art, Allison, you truly are talented. ❤

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  3. I absolutely loved looking through all of your artwork!💕A few of my favorites were the one of your friend’s horse, the zentangle elephant, and Megan’s birthday card. I’d love to see a whole post about your Bible journaling! 🙂

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  5. I absolutely loved this post! I wish I could draw like that! And thanks for the fairy Allison, I simply loved it! 😍😍😍

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  7. I really loved the inspiring message in this post. You don’t have to be good at art to do it, because art is fun! I really loved your drawings. The “Night Mare” was super cute and I adore your mandala elephant. Would you mind if I sort of did a post like this, though maybe about writing?
    -Rose

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  8. Your art is great, Allison! I received your ocean ATC a couple of days ago, by the way, and it’s lovely. 🙂
    Your card for Megan’s birthday is so funny and cute! I bet she liked it a lot. 😉 It’s too bad that the “night mare” smudged, because otherwise it’s a really cool. It guess it’s a really special horse that it can shoot ink. XD
    Do you do art for school, or do you just draw and paint for fun? Speaking of school, have you started yet, or will you start on Tuesday?
    ~Sassafras

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    1. Thank you, Sassafras! Yay! I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
      Heh heh, thanks. XD She did like it!
      HA HA! XD Yeah. Maybe I’ll redo the Night Mare one.
      I pretty much just do it for fun. Yep! We started school last week, but we are more officially starting Tuesday.

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  15. Hey Allison! These are the amazing drawing… That I have seen! Keep up the good work. I am new to this WordPress and I happen to see your profile, which I really liked it. Hope to see more from you as you one more follower in your list.

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        1. Yeah, me too. 🙂 Also I checked out your art and I think it’s lovely! I especially love the second-to-last one of the girl with her hair in a ponytail and her eyes closed. It’s so pretty and you did such a great job!

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          1. Thank you lots! I’m glad you think so 😊 I really love how you do calligraphy and such! I’m gonna have to figure out how to do it….

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                    3. Why…NOT? XD XD XD Hehe!! 😛 😉 😀 😦 😡 😉 XD 😛 ;P 😀 😛 😉 😀 😦 😡 😉 XD 😛 ;P 😀 😛 😉 😀 😦 😡 😉 XD 😛 ;P 😀 😛 😉 😀 😦 😡 😉 XD 😛 ;P 😀 😛 😉 😀 😦 😡 😉 XD 😛 ;P 😀

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  19. That… was awfully inspiring. As an art lover I’ve made loads of bad art, haha, but I believe this post made my day. I haven’t been doing art in a while and this really got me going! Thanks, Allison. ❤

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  23. GOOD GRIEF, ALLISON, YOUR ART IS AMAZING! CAN I HAVE YOUR ART SKILLS PLEASE? XD
    I looove the elephant, the portrait of Aria, the donkey card, the cute wittle hedgehog, and all the bible verses!! And that video was really inspiring. I have an entire sketchbook filled with bad art. 😛

    -Clara ❤

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    1. AHAHAHAHA WELL THANK YOU THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for your lovely comment, Clara! Ha ha, yes I’ve made quite a lot of bad art too. XD It’s kind of fun/funny to look back on it and be like “EWWW I used to draw like that? I mean, that was, like, yesterday! I’m WAY better now.” XD

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  24. OH MY GOODNESS! WOW!!! That was REALLY GOOD!!! And I LOVE the Exodus 14:14 drawing you did! That’s so neat!!! Also, everything else of yours is REALLY REALLY GOOD! You’re SO good at those 3-D drawing type things! WOW. Very very nice! I loved this!!! 😀 Now I want to do a post with my art! 😉 Even though it’s not nearly as good as yours! 😉

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          1. Hehe!! That might be fun… 😉
            OH YOU GOT THEM!???????? YAAAAAAY! I”M SO HAPPY!!!! 😀 😀 😀 🙂 I’m SO glad you thought they were cute! 🙂 Yeah, the hedgehogs are SO much fun to make! Did you ever get into wool felting? I thought I remembered you having and interest in it…. you’d be GREAT at it! It’s way easier than it sounds too!!! 😀 🙂 I”M SO GLAD YOU GIRLS GOT THE PACKAGE!!! EEK!

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            1. WE DID! Wait, Megan didn’t send you an email? That’s strange… oops, maybe she’s making a thank-you card and I wasn’t suppose to tell or something… hmm. XD Anyway, yes, they were sooo cute! Well I have some wool felting stuff but I haven’t really done much with it yet, although I want to! I guess I’m busy with art at the moment. 😉 YESSSS! 😀

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              1. Uhh.. nope. I don’t think so… XD Haha! Maybe… I don’t know! I’m glad to know you got it though! 🙂
                That’s cool! Yeah, I get that! 😉 I’ve been trying to do more art! 🙂 🙂 Hehe! Hedgehogs are a LOT of fun to make! And they usually turn out decent! And that’s with ME making them, yours would probably be MUCH better, with how good you are with little details and such! 😉

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  26. That art is the most beautiful ever, even the “bad” art, which I thought was beautiful! And WOW! The art you made for my magazine is amazing, especially the “Ambassador’s for Christ” one, it’s absolutely perfect! And thanks for another shout out! I loved your Bible verse ones and everything! Seriously, I LOVE every single picture!

    We made it to Oregon! We’re at the Air B and B house and it’s super nice! I”m so excited, it took 10 hours to get here and we stopped at a BEAUTIFUL waterfall! I am so excited! 😀

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    1. AWW thank you SO SO MUCH, Livy! I’m so glad you like my art! I still have to do the Bible verse art and then I’ll send you all the pictures. 🙂

      WOHOO! That sounds like so much fun! I love waterfalls! You’re taking pictures, right? 😛

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  27. your totally right and its something all artist should learn that to progress you first need to find where you stand, I also really liked your painting and I really like your elephant drawing, I also recently posted about a bad drawing that made me progress and make a good drawing recently called “Throne Of The Mighty Back and Better then Before.

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  28. Hi Allison! Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful art with us…even the bad art! I’m new to WordPress & just found your site tonight & I’m so excited! I do Happy Mail Envelopes, too! But mine is more like doodling. I have a question for you, tho…On your mandalas, do you use a template or a stencil? Also, what pen do you use on them? They are absolute perfection! Great job!

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    1. Thank YOU so much for commenting! I’m so glad you like my blog! Ooh yeah, doodling on envelopes is a lot of fun. 🙂 Actually I didn’t use anything for the mandalas – I just drew them freehand. 😉 I did sketch out some small dots before I drew, as guides, but I didn’t measure them. And for the pen, I used a super fine tip pen similar for this one: https://www.amazon.com/Sakura-30081-Micron-Blister-0-20-mm/dp/B001CRI6O2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1504614291&sr=8-3&keywords=005+pen
      Thanks again!

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  29. Hello Allison! I sent you an invitation on google plus to join my blogging community. I really do hope you join! It’d be awesome to have you! ❤

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  31. AWESOME!!!!!!!
    THESE ARE ALL SO COOL!!! MY FAVORITE IS THE ELAPHANT AND THE HORSE! Wow Great job allison! Your awesome at this!

    P.s the video was Great!
    😀
    😎
    🙂
    🤗
    ☺
    😉
    😄
    😃

    ❤ -Sara!😀

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  32. Amazing art! The Elephant, Waterfall (they are indeed very hard to draw!), portrait, donkey card, and K.A.’s horse are my favorites!! The Bible journal art is pretty, I like to do those too! 😀
    ~Gracie

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  35. This was really inspiring to read! I’ve only started drawing recently and I’ve had a lot and I mean a lot of bad drawings, which was starting to discourage me. Then I realized that the only way to get better is by drawing no matter how bad or good it is. So it was really nice seeing your experience and knowing that everyone struggles before they get better. Thanks for posting your experience!

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  38. I don’t think of art as “bad” or “good”. I’m interested in how it expresses the artist’s intent. I think the only art I don’t like is pretentious art. Your art is lovely.

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  40. Oh wow! I know this post is old, but I noticed a chunk of my traffic this month was coming from this website so I decided to check it out! Thankyou so much for sharing my video and I’m so glad you liked it! And I’m even more excited it inspired you to share the word and talk about the art that you don’t like as much! (Because I can’t call it bad, you’re so skillful!) And your art you’re proud of is exceptional, I love the elephant SO much! I want a print of that in my room haha!

    Thanks again and I loved getting to see your artwork!

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    1. Oh my goodness, I saw your name on here and I’m like, “WHAT?! EEP!” Thank you SO much for commenting, Alice! 😀 It made my day!
      Ha ha, yeah, I’ve been watching your videos a lot – I love them! And I thought the video I shared had a really good message. 🙂 Aww thank you so much! Actually, since I published this post I opened an Etsy shop and I’m actually selling the elephant as a print right here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/544326706/zentangle-elephant-art-giclee-fine-art?ref=shop_home_active_2 🙂
      Thank YOU again so much for commenting! I’m so glad you liked my art! 😀

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  42. Pingback: Chats With Wings #2 – A Purpose of Winged Dogs

  43. I totally agree with you. Everyone has got to start somewhere and art is expression. It shouldn’t be confined by the “goods” and “bads” of it. I loved your drawings! Keep up the good work 😀

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  49. I really like the mandala drawings and all the different colour techniques you used. Are there any good places to buy watercolour brush pens, or pens that you recommend? Love the post, thanks 🙂

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    1. Thank you so much! Hmm, well I got mine from Amazon, I believe, so that’s probably a good place to start! 🙂 And as for pens I recommend, I really like the Zig Millenium fine-tip pens! Also erasable gel pens are fun.
      So glad you liked it! Thanks for commenting! 🙂

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