---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first ten thousand drawings are the…"
description: "\"The first ten thousand drawings are the hardest. Put another way, you have ten thousand bad drawings within and should expel them as quickly as possibl..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/wallace-tripp-86114_another-way_the-first-ten-thousand-drawings-are-the_3214261.jpg"
---

#  The first ten thousand drawings are the hardest. Put…

![“The first ten thousand drawings are the hardest. Put another way, you have ten thousand bad drawings within and should expel them as quickly as possible.” quote by Wallace Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/wallace-tripp-86114_another-way_the-first-ten-thousand-drawings-are-the_3214261.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/wallace-tripp-86114_another-way_the-first-ten-thousand-drawings-are-the_3214261.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/wallace-tripp-86114_another-way_the-first-ten-thousand-drawings-are-the_3214261.jpg)

> “The first ten thousand drawings are the hardest. Put another way, you have ten thousand bad drawings within and should expel them as quickly as possible.”

[Wallace Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-tripp/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The initial batch of sketches is the toughest; discard the many flawed attempts quickly to improve.

**In simple terms:** First drawings are hardest; discard bad ones fast.

Key Takeaway

Practice rapid iteration and let go of perfection.

Themes

art practice perfectionism

Mood

critical encouraging

Type

educational inspirational

When to use this quote

- drawing lessons
- design workshops
- creative training

Key Concepts

iteration learning curve

Questions to Reflect On

- How many drafts do you keep?
- When do you decide to discard a sketch?

A Different Perspective

Too much self‑criticism can stall progress.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Another way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-way/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Bad Drawings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-drawings-1981401/) [Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing/) [Drawings Expel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawings-expel-5654557/) [Drawings Hardest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawings-hardest-5654558/) [Expel Quickly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expel-quickly-6017842/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Hardest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hardest/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Ten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ten/) [Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand/) [Thousand Drawings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-drawings-4976088/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Whisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whisk/)

## Related quotes

> [The experienced illustrator subscribes to the principle of the application of the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair. Should inspiration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-tripp/the-experienced-illustrator-subscribes-to-the-principle-of-the/)

[Wallace Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-tripp/)

> [Any idiot that wants to make a couple of thousand drawings for a hundred feet of film is welcome to join the club.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winsor-mccay/any-idiot-that-wants-to-make-a-couple-of-thousand-drawings-for-a/)

[Winsor McCay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winsor-mccay/)

> [“We all have 10,000 bad drawings in us. The sooner we get them out the better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-stanchfield/we-all-have-10-000-bad-drawings-in-us-the-sooner-we-get-them-out-the/)

[Walt Stanchfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-stanchfield/)

> [Every artist has thousands of bad drawings in them and the only way to get rid of them is to draw them out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/every-artist-has-thousands-of-bad-drawings-in-them-and-the-only-way/)

[Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/)

> [You've got a million bad drawings in you; you better get started.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/you-ve-got-a-million-bad-drawings-in-you-you-better-get-started/)

[Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/)

> [All of you here have one hundred thousand bad drawings in you. The sooner you get rid of them, the better it will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/all-of-you-here-have-one-hundred-thousand-bad-drawings-in-you-the/)

[Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/)

> [“Happiness has always been a will of the whisk often a mirage!whenever i stretch my hands to grasp it …It eludes me mockingly...There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naser-bawazeer/happiness-has-always-been-a-will-of-the-whisk-often-a-mirage-whenever/)

[Naser Bawazeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naser-bawazeer/)

> [Give an Irishman lager for a month and he's a dead man. An Irishman's stomach is lined with copper, and the beer corrodes it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/give-an-irishman-lager-for-a-month-and-he-s-a-dead-man-an-irishman-s/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [If when you say 'whiskey' you mean the devil's brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster that defiles innocence, dethrones reason... then I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-s-sweat/if-when-you-say-whiskey-you-mean-the-devil-s-brew-the-poison-scourge/)

[Noah S. Sweat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-s-sweat/)

> [I guess I had always sort of fantasized that a guy would see me and get past the ponytail and the glasses and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-sampson/i-guess-i-had-always-sort-of-fantasized-that-a-guy-would-see-me-and/)

[Jeff Sampson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-sampson/)

> [There are two things a Highlander likes naked, and the other one is Malt Whisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-h-bruce-lockhart/there-are-two-things-a-highlander-likes-naked-and-the-other-one-is/)

[R. H. Bruce Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-h-bruce-lockhart/)

> [Life is a smoke that curls- Curls in a flickering skein, That winds and whisks and whirls, A figment thin and vain, Into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-henley/life-is-a-smoke-that-curls-curls-in-a-flickering-skein-that-winds-and/)

[William Ernest Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-henley/)

> [The rapture will not be secret but open and manifest. Its purpose will not be to whisk the elect away from the earth for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/the-rapture-will-not-be-secret-but-open-and-manifest-its-purpose-will/)

[R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/)

> [I like to take mustard baths. I combine 4 lbs Epsom salts, 3 oz mustard powder, 12 oz powdered milk, and 1/2 cup baking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-coughlin/i-like-to-take-mustard-baths-i-combine-4-lbs-epsom-salts-3-oz-mustard/)

[Natalie Coughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-coughlin/)

> [Food, like anything else, lives in the physical world and obeys the laws of physics. When you whisk together some oil and a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/food-like-anything-else-lives-in-the-physical-world-and-obeys-the/)

[Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/)

## More by Wallace Tripp

> [Illustrators are word people who happen to draw. We work with one foot in a book, the other stuck in a paint pot. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-tripp/illustrators-are-word-people-who-happen-to-draw-we-work-with-one-foot/)

[Wallace Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-tripp/)

> [The experienced illustrator subscribes to the principle of the application of the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair. Should inspiration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-tripp/the-experienced-illustrator-subscribes-to-the-principle-of-the/)

[Wallace Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-tripp/)

[Explore all 3 Wallace Tripp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-tripp/)

## More Another way quotes

> [Cooking brings me so much joy. I love everything, down to the execution of the plate to picking out fresh ingredients at the market.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-budig/cooking-brings-me-so-much-joy-i-love-everything-down-to-the-execution/)

[Kathryn Budig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-budig/)

> [Social media is not just another way to connect feminist and activist voices - it amplifies our messages as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/social-media-is-not-just-another-way-to-connect-feminist-and-activist/)

[Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/)

> [I've got the public. I don't care about the critics. I did at one time. I don't any more. I did when I needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-ve-got-the-public-i-don-t-care-about-the-critics-i-did-at-one-time/)

[LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/)

> [... we need to interrogate "reverence," for idolization can be another way one is objectified and not really taken seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/we-need-to-interrogate-reverence-for-idolization-can-be-another-way/)

[Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/)

> [And after hearing what our Church can say, If still our reason runs another way, That private reason 'tis more just to curb, Than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/and-after-hearing-what-our-church-can-say-if-still-our-reason-runs/)

[John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/)

> [I'm really fascinated and you know I've been wondering about that usage of language, various breathing techniques and why in these practices language is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-m-really-fascinated-and-you-know-i-ve-been-wondering-about-that/)

[Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/)

> [The fact that you are not sure means that it is possible that there is another way someday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/the-fact-that-you-are-not-sure-means-that-it-is-possible-that-there/)

[Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/)

> [Congress decides who becomes a citizen and how. To automatically say the 14th Amendment grants birthright citizenship, no, we can't change that. Amending the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/congress-decides-who-becomes-a-citizen-and-how-to-automatically-say/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [Just because somebody swings one way and I swing another way doesn't mean he's better than me or I'm better than him ... Does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-pedroia/just-because-somebody-swings-one-way-and-i-swing-another-way-doesn-t/)

[Dustin Pedroia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-pedroia/)

> [The spirit of Christianity proclaims the brotherhood of the race and the meaning of that strong word has not been left to guesswork, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-spirit-of-christianity-proclaims-the-brotherhood-of-the-race-and/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [Suffering, if you're a Christian, suffering is a part of life. And it's not a bad thing, it is an essential thing in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/suffering-if-you-re-a-christian-suffering-is-a-part-of-life-and-it-s/)

[Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/)

> [Rather than admit a mistake, nations have gone to war, families have separated, and good people have sacrificed everything dear to them. Admitting that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-ward/rather-than-admit-a-mistake-nations-have-gone-to-war-families-have/)

[Don Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-ward/)

> [Painting is the most magical of mediums. The transcendence is truly amazing to me every time I go to a museum and I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/painting-is-the-most-magical-of-mediums-the-transcendence-is-truly/)

[Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/)

> [I don't know about forgiving, but it's an "I'm still here." And it's not just because I have nowhere else to go. It's because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-rankine/i-don-t-know-about-forgiving-but-it-s-an-i-m-still-here-and-it-s-not/)

[Claudia Rankine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-rankine/)

> [There is no finer way to demonstrate love of God than by serving Him in the positions to which we may be called. Occasionally,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/there-is-no-finer-way-to-demonstrate-love-of-god-than-by-serving-him/)

[Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/)

[Browse all 421 Another way quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-way/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The first ten thousand drawings are the hardest. Put another way, you have ten thousand bad drawings within and should expel them as quickly as possible.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Wallace Tripp"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-tripp/the-first-ten-thousand-drawings-are-the-hardest-put-another-way-you/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Another way"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-tripp/the-first-ten-thousand-drawings-are-the-hardest-put-another-way-you/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/wallace-tripp-86114_another-way_the-first-ten-thousand-drawings-are-the_3214261.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/wallace-tripp-86114_another-way_the-first-ten-thousand-drawings-are-the_3214261.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/wallace-tripp-86114_another-way_the-first-ten-thousand-drawings-are-the_3214261.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The first ten thousand drawings are the hardest. Put another way, you have ten thousand bad drawings within…” — Wallace Tripp",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Wallace Tripp",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-tripp/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The first ten thousand drawings are...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-tripp/the-first-ten-thousand-drawings-are-the-hardest-put-another-way-you/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-tripp/the-first-ten-thousand-drawings-are-the-hardest-put-another-way-you/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
