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3 years ago I dropped sketching and I keep thinking about picking it back up
Back in 2021 I used to spend every Sunday morning at this coffee shop on Main Street just doodling in my sketchbook. I wasn't good or anything, just liked drawing buildings and trees with a cheap mechanical pencil. Then I got busy with work and just stopped one day, didn't even think about it. Last week I walked past that same coffee shop and saw a guy doing the exact same thing I used to do, and it hit me how much I miss it. I tried to pick up my pencil again last night but my hand felt rusty and I got frustrated after like 10 minutes. Has anyone else come back to a hobby after a long break and felt like you lost all your skill? How do you get past that initial block without just giving up again?
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grays131mo ago
Respectfully, giving up because you're rusty just means you cared more about being good than enjoying it.
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knight.felix1mo ago
...and then the pencil just... stopped. Like my hand forgot how to hold it, you know? I swear my stick figures looked like alien hieroglyphics after a three year break. But honestly, the stuff you drew three years ago probably looked like that too, you just forgot how bad it was. The real trick is to lean into the suck. Draw the ugliest building you can imagine. Make it look like a potato with windows. Once you stop taking it so seriously, the rust starts to fall off and you remember it's supposed to be fun, not a talent show.
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