I Couldn't Draw. 30 Days Later, I Can't Stop.
My brutally honest review of The Blob Drawing Book — the method that finally worked
"I can't draw."
I've said it a thousand times. I've believed it my whole life.
I was wrong. And if you're reading this thinking the same thing — you're wrong too.
Here's what 30 days with The Blob Drawing Book actually did to a person who hadn't held a pencil for fun since fifth grade.
Let me be crystal clear about where I started: I was the person who couldn't draw a stick figure that looked like a stick figure. My "art" in school was stick people with lollipop heads. My handwriting looks like a doctor's prescription. When friends pulled out sketchbooks at coffee shops, I pulled out my phone and pretended to be busy.
I tried everything. YouTube tutorials where the instructor draws a perfect face in 30 seconds and says "just follow along." Adult coloring books that left me bored after two pages. "Learn to draw" apps that gamified everything except actual learning. Nothing stuck. Nothing made me believe I could actually create something.
Then I found The Blob Drawing Book. And everything changed.
The Method That Broke My "I Can't Draw" Brain
Here's the genius of the blob method: it removes the blank page.
Every other drawing book I've tried starts with "draw a circle." Great. I draw a circle. It looks like a potato. Then the book says "add eyes." I add eyes. They look like they're melting off the potato. I close the book. I feel worse than when I started.
The blob method doesn't start with perfection. It starts with a mess. A squiggle. A random closed shape. A blob. And then — this is the magic — the book teaches you to see what the blob wants to become.
It's not "draw a cat." It's "this blob looks like it has ears. Let's add ears." It's not "draw a bird." It's "this curve could be a wing. What if we made it fly?"
The difference is everything. One approach demands perfection from step one. The other invites play from step one. And play is where learning actually happens.
The 4-Step Blob Method (It Works Every Time)
Start With a Blob
Draw any closed shape. A circle, an oval, a wobbly potato, a lightning bolt that accidentally connected back to itself. Don't think. Don't plan. Just put pencil to paper and make a shape. The uglier, the better. This blob is your raw material — your clay, your canvas, your starting point. Every masterpiece in this book started exactly this way.
Add Guiding Lines
Look at your blob. Really look. What do you see? A horizontal line across the middle becomes eyes. A vertical line down the center becomes a nose or a spine. Two curves on the sides become legs or wings. The blob is already suggesting a character — you just need to listen. The book has prompts if you get stuck, but honestly? Your blob is already talking. You just have to pay attention.
Build the Character
Now you add the details that bring it to life. Ears, tails, whiskers, spots, stripes, a little hat, a bow tie. The book gives you ideas, but by this point you're already invested. You know what your blob wants to be. Follow it. There's no wrong answer. A blob with spikes is a dragon. A blob with floppy ears is a puppy. A blob with three eyes is an alien, and that's awesome.
Customize and Own It
This is where your drawing becomes YOURS. Add a background. A speech bubble with a terrible pun. A tiny prop. Sign your name at the bottom. Date it. This is the moment most beginners skip — they finish the character and move on. But ownership is what transforms "I followed a tutorial" into "I made this." And that feeling? That's the addiction.
My 30-Day Progression: The Real Timeline
I sat at my kitchen table for 20 minutes before I opened the book.
Not exaggerating. I was genuinely afraid. Afraid of proving, once and for all, that I really couldn't draw. I finally opened to page one. The prompt: "Draw a blob. Any blob." I drew a wobbly circle. Then the book said "add two dots." I added two dots. Then "add a line underneath." I added a line. And suddenly — I had a face. It wasn't good. But it was a FACE. I stared at it for five minutes. I took a photo. I sent it to my sister with the caption "I drew something." She replied "Is that a cat?" It wasn't. But it was something. And that was enough.
Page 12: "Blob to Bunny."
I followed the prompts. Blob. Two long ears. A tiny nose. Whiskers. A fluffy tail. And when I finished, I looked at the page and felt something I hadn't felt in decades: pride. Not "this is amazing" pride. "I made this" pride. The bunny was lopsided. One ear was bigger than the other. The whiskers looked like antennae. But it was undeniably a bunny. And I had drawn it. I showed my husband. He said "That's actually cute." He wasn't lying. I could tell.
I opened a blank notebook and drew a blob.
No prompts. No instructions. Just me, a pencil, and a shape. I added lines. I saw a fox. I added a bushy tail, pointy ears, a sly expression. It took 15 minutes. It wasn't in the book. It was in my head. And it came out through my hand. I sat there in shock. I had just created something from nothing. Me. The person who couldn't draw a stick figure. The person who believed creativity was a gift other people got and she didn't. I drew three more that night. A bird. A fish. A monster with one giant eye. I couldn't stop.
I filled an entire sketchbook.
Thirty-two pages. Blobs that became cats, dogs, dragons, aliens, a grumpy owl wearing a top hat, a turtle with a backpack, a cloud that looked sad. Some are good. Some are terrible. All of them are MINE. I carry a small notebook in my bag now. I draw at coffee shops. I draw while waiting for appointments. I draw because I want to, not because I'm trying to get better. The improvement happened anyway. But the joy? That's why I keep going.
Before & After: What Actually Changed
"I can't draw" was my identity. I avoided anything creative. I felt jealous of people who could sketch. I believed creativity was genetic — you had it or you didn't. I didn't. I was a consumer, not a creator. And I told myself that was fine.
I draw every day. Not because I have to — because I want to. I see the world differently now: that cloud looks like a whale, that tree branch looks like a hand, that coffee stain looks like a face. I'm a creator. I have a sketchbook. I have a style (loose, wobbly, weird — and I love it). Most importantly: I no longer believe "I can't." I believe "I haven't yet."
5 Mistakes That Kill Motivation (And How to Avoid Them)
⚠️ Don't Do What I Almost Did
- Comparing your Day 1 to someone's Day 1,000. I almost quit because my bunny didn't look like the examples. The examples were drawn by the author. You're not competing with the author. You're competing with your yesterday.
- Using expensive supplies right away. I bought a $40 set of drawing pencils before I even opened the book. Total waste. A regular #2 pencil works perfectly. Start cheap. Upgrade when you know what you actually like.
- Skipping the "bad" drawings. My first ten blobs were terrible. Blob #7 looked like a sad potato. But blob #11 looked like a cat. If I'd stopped at #7, I'd never have seen #11. Bad drawings are data, not failure.
- Trying to be perfect. The whole point of the blob method is that perfection isn't the goal. Expression is. Your wobbly lines are YOUR lines. They have character. They have soul. Perfect lines are boring.
- Not sharing your work. I almost hid my drawings forever. Then I showed my niece. She asked me to draw her a unicorn. I did. It was terrible. She hung it on her wall. That moment was worth every wobbly line.
Supplies: Start With What You Have
💡 The Truth About Supplies
You don't need anything special. Seriously. Here's what I used for the first 20 days:
- A regular #2 pencil (stolen from my junk drawer)
- Printer paper (folded in half to make a booklet)
- A pink eraser (the free kind from school, still had bite marks)
That's it. The book works with ANYTHING. Crayons, ballpoint pens, markers, colored pencils. The method doesn't care about your tools. It cares about your willingness to start.
7 Quick Tips to Accelerate Your Progress
Draw the same blob twice
Draw a blob, turn it into a cat. Draw the SAME blob again, turn it into a dog. Same starting point, different destination. Builds creative flexibility fast.
Set a 15-minute timer
Not 60 minutes. Not "until it's perfect." 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, you're done. This removes the pressure of "sitting down to draw" and makes it feel like a quick win.
Photograph every drawing
Create a photo album on your phone. When you feel stuck, scroll back to Day 1. The progress is invisible day-to-day, but undeniable month-to-month.
Color your drawings
After you draw a character, color it in. Even with cheap crayons. Color transforms a sketch into art — and it feels incredibly satisfying.
Draw with someone
My niece and I now have "blob time" every Saturday. Same prompt, two different results. Zero competition, double the fun.
Rotate between book and freestyle
One day follow the book's prompts. Next day, open a blank page and invent your own. The book builds skill; freestyle builds confidence.
Who This Book Is Actually For
Not artists. Not people who already draw. This book is for:
The "I can't draw" believer. The person who says it reflexively, like a shield. The person who's been told creativity is for "creative people" and accepted that lie. The person who wants to make something but is terrified of making something bad.
The parent who wants to draw with their kid. Not watch their kid draw. DRAW with them. Side by side, same prompt, two different results. The blob method makes that possible even if you haven't held a crayon in 30 years.
The bullet journaler. You want cute doodles in your planner but every tutorial assumes you can already draw. The blob method gives you a library of simple characters you can drop into any spread.
The creative hobby seeker. You've tried knitting, painting, pottery, and nothing stuck. Drawing feels too hard. This book makes it feel possible — because it IS possible. You just needed the right starting point.
The Blob Drawing Book
The book that taught me to draw. The book that can teach you too.
Your First Drawing Starts in 20 Minutes
Not tomorrow. Not when you buy better supplies. Not when you "feel ready."
Right now. A pencil. A piece of paper. One blob.
That's all it takes. The rest is just showing up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need any drawing experience to use The Blob Drawing Book?
Absolutely not. The entire method is designed for people who haven't drawn since grade school. If you can draw a squiggle, you can use this book.
How long does each drawing take?
Most drawings take 15-25 minutes. The book is designed for short sessions — perfect for busy schedules, lunch breaks, or winding down before bed.
What supplies do I need?
Just a pencil and paper. The book works with any pen, pencil, marker, or crayon you already own. No special art supplies required.
Can kids use this book too?
Yes. The blob method works for ages 5 to 95. Kids love the freedom; adults love the structure. It's genuinely intergenerational.
This is an honest review based on my personal 30-day experience. This post contains affiliate links — if you purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting independent creators!