I want to delete everything and never draw again
Why this happens
This feeling is real. It usually arrives after a long stretch of output, heavy comparison to other artists, or a period where nothing came out the way you imagined. It's not an assessment of your work — it's exhaustion wearing the costume of clarity.
Every working artist has been here. The feeling is temporary. The decisions made in it are usually permanent and wrong.
RIGHT NOW — don't do anything
- Don't delete. Don't post. Don't open Instagram. Close Procreate and put the iPad somewhere you can't see it
- Give it 48 hours. Not forever — exactly 48 hours. Then open the oldest piece you have that you like. Just look at it for a couple of minutes
- If after 48 hours the feeling is still equally strong — that's burnout, not a verdict. Burnout has a different fix: less output, more drawing for yourself with no intention to post or share. Just making things because you want to, with no audience