Notes for starting before you feel ready. A 23-page digital zine about daring to make art on your own timeline: the story, 6 approaches that actually helped, honest fun facts, pro-tips, and small prompts to begin with.
I was 30 when I decided to really try and become an artist. I was sure I was too late: everyone I admired seemed to have started at six, with a parent who painted. What got me through wasn't talent or luck. It was a handful of small, repeatable things, and this zine gathers all of them in one place.
These are notes from someone still figuring it out, written for whoever needs to hear that the door is not closed.
▲ the story of how I began, including the Bulgarian saying that almost stopped me
▲ 6 approaches that actually helped me start, properly unpacked
▲ fun facts: the embarrassing bits (I drew with my fingers on a laptop for 2 years)
▲ pro-tips: the practical side of each lesson
▲ try this: small prompts, so you start before you feel ready
▲ addressing what 'later in life' even means
It's a zine to do, not just to read :) Keep a pen or pencil nearby.
Whether you're 30, 45, or 70: your timing is not wrong. This is for you, and for my own 29-year-old self, who needed exactly this and couldn't find it.
▲ digital zine (PDF), 23 pages, A5
▲ instant download after purchase
▲ read on any device, or print at home
▲ first edition, 2026
▲ made with love in Nicosia, Cyprus
Released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 — you are invited and welcome to share and adapt it for non-commercial purposes, with credit, under the same licence. Sharing beats gatekeeping.
Notes for starting before you feel ready. A 23-page digital zine about daring to make art on your own timeline: the story, 6 approaches that actually helped, honest fun facts, pro-tips, and small prompts to begin with.
I was 30 when I decided to really try and become an artist. I was sure I was too late: everyone I admired seemed to have started at six, with a parent who painted. What got me through wasn't talent or luck. It was a handful of small, repeatable things, and this zine gathers all of them in one place.
These are notes from someone still figuring it out, written for whoever needs to hear that the door is not closed.
▲ the story of how I began, including the Bulgarian saying that almost stopped me
▲ 6 approaches that actually helped me start, properly unpacked
▲ fun facts: the embarrassing bits (I drew with my fingers on a laptop for 2 years)
▲ pro-tips: the practical side of each lesson
▲ try this: small prompts, so you start before you feel ready
▲ addressing what 'later in life' even means
It's a zine to do, not just to read :) Keep a pen or pencil nearby.
Whether you're 30, 45, or 70: your timing is not wrong. This is for you, and for my own 29-year-old self, who needed exactly this and couldn't find it.
▲ digital zine (PDF), 23 pages, A5
▲ instant download after purchase
▲ read on any device, or print at home
▲ first edition, 2026
▲ made with love in Nicosia, Cyprus
Released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 — you are invited and welcome to share and adapt it for non-commercial purposes, with credit, under the same licence. Sharing beats gatekeeping.
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