let's gather feathers.

Yeah same, I used to draw when I was younger and my method was always just draw lots and lots of lines then erase the ones that are most wrong. But I'm too lazy / distracted by other things now to draw anymore. That's why I think your perseverance and meticulousness are such big points in your favour; you can build skill but effort and vision are always more important. You put in the effort, and your eye for detail is as good in pictures as it in writing.