Every masterpiece in a museum had a first day where it looked like nothing.

Finished work hides its own history. What hangs on a wall under good lighting was once a bad underpainting the person making it was unsure about, and nothing on the first day looked inevitable. Comparing your rough start to someone else’s final state is comparing two different stages. The gap you feel is mostly a gap in what you can see.

When a piece of yours looks hopeless early, name the stage rather than the quality, and keep going for one more session. If you can, look up early sketches by someone whose work you admire. Let the ugliness of their beginnings be normal.