How ideas become real (the creative process no one teaches)

Have you ever looked at an object, a painting, or even a design project and wondered what the starting point was? How the creator went from that spark of an idea in their imagination to a final, tangible project in the real world? And whether any extraordinary skills were required along the way?

Tune in, my creative friend, because today I want to get to the bottom of it. I won’t lie - this exact question stopped me from creating on my own for years. I relied on references or client projects because I felt I had no idea how to start anything “from scratch.”

It felt like you were either Picasso or… not.

But it turns out - and this is the one insight I want you to take from this newsletter - it all comes down to repeating the same “boring” fundamentals, using proven frameworks, and developing the skills that bridge the gap between your vague idea and its real-life execution.

A mountain retreat, three travel sketches, and a creative reset ↓

I also want to share three travel sketches I created this week during a short mountain retreat in the Austrian Alps - a trip I took to clear my head, calm down after the intense final phase of my signature drawing course, and prepare for ASDB (And She Draws Big) 2.0!

And… I couldn’t stop sketching. At. All.



After breakfast I would head straight to the lobby, which has four cozy chill-out zones, all incredibly inspiring, and immerse myself in my world of illustrations.

THE hack: Live drawing boosts your skills 100×

With photographs, the composition is already done for you.

With live drawing, you’re training much deeper skills:

•  capturing only the essential parts of a scene,
•  understanding 3D space intuitively,
•  analyzing a composition quickly,
•  and committing to your first attempt.

And this brings me to Strategy No. 1 for bringing ideas from your head into reality.

1️⃣ Imagine the feeling first

Start with the emotion. The intention. The goal behind your project.
And no, just aesthetics don’t count.

Find your why.
That same “boring” why that works for content creation, habits, and goals in general.
Why are you doing what you’re doing?
Like… deeply. WHY?
 

2️⃣ Define the biggest, most relevant areas

This applies to everything - drawing or interior design.

•  In a drawing, you begin with the composition.
•  In a design project, you begin with the core functional or emotional driver.

Is the room built around storage needs?
Around a favorite furniture piece?
Around a moody atmosphere where everything speaks in one tone.

A real example from my sketchbook ↓

In my recent imagination drawing, I suddenly had the urge to express a specific emotion:
Celebrating New Year’s in the mountains inside a wooden chalet with my partner and friends.



Stylish, cozy, and, of course… in Anna’s world.

So I started with the idea of arriving - a train.

Then the landscape, the chalet houses. That became the core composition.

Then came the interior design: seating area, lighting.

And then… me - Tom Ford pullover, Fendi bag, oversized Celine sunnies :D

And mind you, the entire initial composition was messy.
 

3️⃣ Do NOT skip the messy stage

You sketch however you can until the mess slowly takes shape.
Use magazines. AI. Real-life photos.

I don’t recommend Pinterest, I stopped using it myself (okay, outfit saves still don’t count lol), because it’s too much noise from other people’s lives.
 

4️⃣ Refine, refine, refine

On the iPad, this means layers, layers, layers.
Contours. Adjustments. Iterations.

Today and tomorrow I’ll be adding colors and textures ahhh!
I also bought a printer, so starting next week I’ll be printing every single artwork of mine, yayyy!!

The most underestimated part: Foundations

Knowing the “behind the scenes” of spaces gives you confidence.
Confidence gives you joy in experimenting and testing.

And that is how magic happens.

You can’t think your way to greatness - I’ve said this many times in my newsletter, but it’s still true.

To sketch your ideas, memories, inspirations, you need intuitive knowledge of where things belong so that later you can distort them in your own way.

All great artists started with realism and foundations… and then grew into greatness.

I think I’m at the beginning of my own greatness era!
After all these years.
And I want to keep you updated - in creativity, inspiration, and the ease of bringing your impressions to life.

My drawing course is currently on the waitlist as I’m completely updating it, but you can still download my two free guides:

•  Digital Drawing Jumpstart → download here.
•  10 iPad + AI Techniques for Interior Design → download here.

With big drawing energy
and happy creating, everyone!
Anna at @andshedrawsbig