Why you might want to read this:
If someone had given me an article like this 10 years ago,
I would have saved two years of my life,
spent about $5,000 less on learning,
and earned $100,000 more. (Yes, I truly believe that)

And honestly — everything would have been so much EASIER

I learned how to draw on my sixth attempt.
Almost by accident.
The first five attempts all looked the same:
• I felt inspired
• I tried to learn on my own through YouTube
• I bought a book, a workshop, a course
• I was excited for a couple of weeks
• There was little to no result
• Then came frustration and self-blame
• And I disappeared from drawing for 6–12 months
Again. And again.

Now, after I’ve learned how to draw,
received over 3,000,000 likes on my work,
collaborated with amazing people,
and feel completely confident in my skills and their quality —
I finally understand what was really behind all my struggles and failures.

THE PROBLEM WASN’T ME. AT ALL.
The problem was that the lessons I was learning from were…
well, simply ??%°?)@/? bad.
That’s it.

If the problem had really been me,
I would have never achieved the results I have today 👇

And honestly — it was incredibly frustrating.
Because I paid for those lessons. I even took installment plans. And I asked directly: “Are these lessons suitable for beginners?”
And the answer was always something like: “Well… generally… yes. You won’t get wow-results, but yes.”

Technically, they weren’t lying.

But in reality, I was stuck in a serious misunderstanding — and no one was in a hurry to clear it up.

So that you don’t end up in the same situation, let me explain how this actually works.
There are only two ways to learn how to draw (and both are valid).


1️⃣ Expensive, long — but “entertaining”
What it looks like: You set aside $3,000–$5,000 and 2–3 years of learning. You go through 300–500 different lessons and workshops.

These are the classic “repeat after the teacher” type of lessons — I’m sure you’ve tried this before.

The main challenge: Psychologically accepting that results won’t come in weeks — but in years.

And somehow learning to enjoy the process itself.

Because without that acceptance, you will 100% burn out.
By the way, about 99% of online courses (almost everything under $150) are designed exactly for this type of learning.


2️⃣ Faster, cheaper — but more demanding
What it looks like: You choose one good course that actually explains the fundamentals, train your basic skills first, and only then build style and speed.

Main advantages: Price (you can stay within $1,000) and timing — a motivating result in a few weeks, commercial-level skills in a few months.

The main challenge: This is not entertainment — it’s learning. It can feel boring to train a skill and draw pages like this again and again.

Okay. Let’s get back to the point.

You tried fashion sketching — and it didn’t work out.
Why?

Because the lessons you followed were never designed to actually teach you how to draw.
They were just workshops where the artist shares their personal approach: “This is how I draw.”
That’s it.
All five of my failed attempts happened for exactly this reason.

So what should you do if you really want to learn?

Option 1.
Accept that decent results will come in about a year,
and simply take 1–2 workshops a week,
without expecting too much from yourself.
This works — if you’re okay with a long timeline.

Option 2.
Find courses that teach the fundamentals,
and carefully follow a structured learning program,
doing all the practice exercises step by step.
By the way, this is exactly how my course is built.
Feel free to join if this resonates ❤️

On my sixth attempt, I finally understood this thing about fundamentals.
And I started looking for answers to very specific questions:
• how to draw the torso
• how to draw hands and fingers
• how to draw hairstyles
• how to make watercolor brushstrokes
• how to…
• how to…
Back then, I couldn’t find a single course that taught all of this in one place.
So I collected everything piece by piece myself
(which is why I consider myself self-taught).
And still — it worked.

Tomorrow, at the same time,
I’ll share the top mistakes that made my path much longer than it needed to be.