If you've been around here for a while, you know my favorite thing about drawing isn't getting it "right." It's that moment when a silly idea pops into your head and makes you giggle. A cat peeking out from behind a giant cake. An ice cream cone that's sad because it's melting. Those ideas are usually a little weird, a little wonky, and exactly what makes a drawing fun.

But here's what I really want to talk about today: confidence.

Drawing builds real confidence, one drawing at a time

I don't think confidence shows up because a kid was told "good job" enough times. I think it shows up because a kid did the thing. Picked up a crayon, made some marks, and ended up with something they made with their own two hands. Then they did it again. And again.

That's the whole secret, honestly. Every finished drawing is proof to a kid that they can start something, work through the tricky parts, and end up somewhere good. Drawing is just a really fun, low-pressure way to build confidence, one page of drawing at a time.

For the kid who wants everything to be perfect

If you've got a perfectionist on your hands, you probably know the scene: one wobbly line and suddenly the whole paper gets crumpled up, or the marker gets thrown down, or you hear "I can't do this" before they've even really started.

I get it. It's actually one of my biggest goals with every drawing video I make: showing that mistakes are okay, and sometimes they make the drawing better. A smudge can become a shadow. A line that went the wrong way can turn into a new character.

When kids see that happen over and over, something shifts. They stop bracing for a mistake and start getting curious about what they can do with it. That's a confidence skill that follows them way beyond the page.

This is exactly what we're doing in Curious Artist Camp

This summer, I put together 12 drawing videos built around the idea of fun first. We're drawing capybaras, castles, bumblebees, a strawberry plant, monsters, and yes, even that cat with the cake! No art experience required, no pressure to get it "right," and plenty of room for happy accidents along the way.

If you've got a kid who loves to draw, or a kid who thinks they're not good at it (usually the perfectionists, in my experience), this camp was made for them.

Join Curious Artist Camp