More practice… or more outreach?

Have you ever found yourself stuck in this thought:

“Should I be marketing my services already or do I need to get my skills perfect first?”

This question comes up whether you’re starting out in a new career path or expanding into a higher-end project type. Do I update my portfolio first, or do I take a business course first?

I’m actually writing this from a train between Munich and Paris where I just saw the LARGEST exhibition of my all-time favorite artist, David Hockney, at the Fondation Louis Vuitton.

I can’t even tell you how happy this made me! Even at Tate in London and the museums in New York, I never managed to catch his works. After years of trying, I finally did!!

And let me quickly inspire you too before we dive into the whole “skills vs. marketing” thing:

YES, this is the artist who inspired my own quick still lifes and mountain sketches, like these ones below:

Seeing his work reminded me of one of the biggest misconceptions that held me back for YEARS:

👇
I was deeply convinced that if I just drew one more day, one more week, one more month, maybe even one more year, THEN, my skills would be perfect, more realistic, closer to that successful artist I was comparing myself to on Instagram.

And THEN I’d finally be allowed to call myself an artist and share my creations.

This is the trap bad teaching puts us in.

Because yes - drawing more matters. But only when you build on proper foundations. Because repeating the same mistakes from sketch to sketch doesn’t magically improve anything. It just wastes time, and you hope the next drawing will magically be better.

But with foundations, you shorten the learning curve INSTANTLY. And you actually enjoy creating because you know what you’re doing. You’re CONFIDENT because you’re knowledgeable.

📌 And then there’s marketing.

Before you even think about “outreach,” you need to get specific. Not just: “I want to work with hotels” or “I want to work in fashion.” That’s way too general.

The market is saturated. Being “good” is no longer enough.

What you really need is:
a unique philosophy
a recognisable point of view
your own combination of topics + style that no one else is doing

That’s what makes your work MAGNETIC.

And here’s where AI comes in! Because when you do have that unique style and philosophy, AI doesn’t replace it, it multiplies it. It lets you create faster, explore deeper, and express yourself in new ways.

As Kelly Wearstler recently said: “AI is a luxury.”

So what’s the sequence?

Here’s what I suggest:

1️⃣ Get clear on your next career step or project type.
2️⃣ Define your philosophy and why you’re the best at what you do.
3️⃣ Define your exact project + client type (yes, even if you haven’t created in that aesthetic yet).
4️⃣ Learn the foundations so you can build confidence, break rules, and develop your own style.
5️⃣ Create 2-3 authentic projects (with AI if needed, I call it faking real projects in a unique way 😅).
6️⃣ And then… start your outreach.

Even if your portfolio isn’t huge yet. Even if you only have those 2-3 projects.

Because once you start, you CANNOT STOP! NOT after months of silence. Not after rejections.

As long as you believe deeply in your work → eventually everyone else will too.

And since we’re talking about outreach: I want to help you with the exact strategy I used to land my dream high-end clients right from the start of my career (and still use now).

So I’m giving you free access to my Marketing Class recording I hosted with my AI students earlier this year.

You’ll get it free as a bonus when you join the ASDB Academy from this newsletter. It’s the ultimate drawing + marketing power pack to move you forward.

Get access to the ENTIRE roadmap >>

With big drawing energy,
Anna at @andshedrawsbig 🎨