💎 I was shocked.

Gem #58 What my first launch revealed about artists today.

Léa Wai

Jun 07, 2025

Bonjour my little demon,

Whether you just joined or have been here from the beginning, thank you so much for reading 🖤.

Throwback to my very first course launch in November 2023 — I had rented an enchanted little house while traveling in Thailand at the time!

🔥 Announcement 🔥

My two portrait masterclasses are reopening very soon.

Join the waiting list now to get:

Daily dose of portrait & drawing tips straight to your phone!
Early access to the courses with a HUGE discount

Join the waiting list now

TODAY’S GEM

When I opened my portrait courses for the first time, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I had worked on them for months. Tested every module. Reread every word.

And when the first launch brought in 400 new students in just 5 days, I was shocked.

Not just because of the numbers.
But because I realized something deeper: this was needed.

So many artists today feel stuck in the middle.

They’re not total beginners anymore — but they’re still not where they want to be. They jump from one tutorial to the next, collect hundreds of references, try ten techniques at once...

But the results don’t feel like them.

The portraits look okay, but they don’t feel unique.

There’s no clarity. No life. No style.

That’s exactly why I created my portrait courses in the first place.

I wanted to offer a real shortcut — something to help artists avoid the endless detours and burnout I went through myself.

I didn’t build it to impress.

I built it to offer something I never had:

A system you can trust. A path that actually works.

I created:

🦄 Reality to Fantasy™, to teach you how to build strong portraits from scratch and develop your own style
🎭 Portrait for Meaning™, to help you add layers of narrative and storytelling to your work

When I built these courses, I didn’t want them to be the longest, or the most technical.

I wanted them to be clear.

To give you tools that work, and results you can feel.

And honestly?

Watching my students rediscover the joy of drawing — after years of doubt and chaos — is what I’m most proud of.