Invisible blocks STEALING your creative power

From deadlines in our head about needing to master XY by a certain age… to “digital isn’t a real drawing tool unless it’s pencil or marker”… to “using references isn’t serious, because real artists only work from imagination”… to “if you can’t depict realism in your sketches, you’re not an artist”…

These invisible blocks pile up. They tell us:
👉 it’s too late.
👉 without experience you can’t get your dream job.
👉 rejection means your work sucks and you’re not worthy to call yourself a designer.

But let’s start this week by separating truth from noise and seeing what’s actually been holding us back from letting our full creative potential shine.

You need to understand that even professionals deal with these thoughts. They just hide them well. And these aren’t even our thoughts. They were brought to us by other people’s insecurities - teachers, professors, bosses - who, through their criticism, thought they were “doing us a favor” by showing us the truth.

The truth is… there is no single truth.

If you genuinely believe that your current idea or creation is brilliant but no one else agrees - it doesn’t mean you’re wrong. It simply means your vision and theirs are different. And that’s okay!

This newsletter was actually inspired by one of the latest members of my iPad Design & Drawing Academy. They shared a story about being a beginner interior designer, offering their services, redesigning everything with passion, only to be met by rejection.

Of course, it IS discouraging for someone starting a new chapter in their life with a new skill. But since you are part of my And She Draws Big world and are reading this newsletter, you’ll feel cheered up and supported :)

Listen, I remember a moment in my own practice as a beginner interior designer back in 2019. I was searching for a job I could start right after graduating. One of the potential employers was a renowned interior design studio in Frankfurt who invited me to an interview.

We were talking about their projects, the role of drawing in design, and passion projects. Everything seemed to be going well until… they said something like this:

“In the first 2-3 years after graduating you can only expect paperwork in the back of the office. Only after that, if you’re qualified enough (lol, after years of paperwork), you’ll maybe be allowed to co-work on someone else’s idea.”

(It’s been a while, so I can’t remember the exact words. Shoutout to people who write books and remember every conversation from 20 years ago, either they have phenomenal memories or they’re lying haha)

How would you feel in that situation?

By that point, I had worked enough on my mindset to know this was the ABSOLUTELY WRONG place for me. If THAT’S how they encouraged their employees, I’d rather serve Starbucks and build my portfolio on the side until I found the right fit. And I knew I would!!

And so will you! The story shows that we just had different outlooks on career paths. It didn’t mean they were “bad guys” or that I was a naïve design student. No. Just a different set of priorities and workflows.

A few months later, I landed my dream job at a well-known interior design studio in Hamburg, working with celebrities and designing dream restaurants and hotels. (Yes, that was right before the pandemic hit, which eventually led to our ASDB world coming to life!)

That studio’s approach was the opposite: they saw I didn’t have much experience, but they also saw my fire and my unique mix of skills, which included marketing, winning new business, and of course, drawing.

Even if you have to go through 10,000+ rejections, if you believe strongly in what you do, no one - not even the “big guys” at the top - can prove you wrong.

This is how I developed a strong belief that:

•  Using references develops imagination and expands ideas. It’s not “cheating.” THEY DO come from my mind - I’m just smart enough to use the tools available today to save MONTHS of boring brainstorming.
•  Timelines are imaginary. (Okay, NOT deadlines - see the difference :D). I’m turning 32 next week, and if I decide I want to try something new and succeed… I FREAKING WILL.
•  Realism isn’t for me. I love expressionism: bold marker strokes, crazy color combinations, distorted proportions. HELL YES! That’s me. But it doesn’t mean realism is bad - it just means it’s not the right fit FOR ME.
•  Digital drawing changed everything. (LOVE those people who think the iPad “draws for us” lol) My iPad gave me freedom. It broke my analysis paralysis and opened an endless field of experimentation. Sure, people can avoid digital and struggle with paper for decades thinking they lack talent (that was me in art school), or they can choose modern tools to unlock creativity and skyrocket their skills. Choice is theirs.
•  Experts don’t define you. An XY professor once told me my skills were so bad there was no chance of improving. PLEASE. That was just their opinion, not truth. We don’t live by that outdated rule of “if you can’t draw this exact bottle in this exact way, you’re not creative.”

Just writing this makes me even more determined to expand my mission FAST.

I NEED to reach as many creatives as possible who doubt their abilities and never start.

That was me too - at 12, believing my skills weren’t good enough compared to my peers… at 17, not studying interior design because people told me I’d end up broke, so I studied journalism instead… at 22, being told it was “too late” to start a creative career because I’d waste time studying instead of making money.

And now, almost 32, it has all come together for the biggest mission of my life: blending art, design, and modern tools to empower creative passions, careers, and build a life of joy, freedom, and love for what you do.

And with that, I’ll leave you today. The doors to my Academy are open, and we’ve recently added modules on AI to help you outsource the technical and research work so you can focus on the most joyful part - bringing your ideas to life through drawing.

Join us HERE →

With big drawing energy,
Anna at @andshedrawsbig