There is a very specific kind of creative magic that happens when you stop trying to impress anyone. It’s the kind where you get an idea that makes absolutely no sense on paper. The kind where you look at it and think, “This is either genius or mildly unhinged.” The kind where you follow it anyway.
That’s exactly how The Ugly Tooth was born.
If you haven’t watched this video yet, pause here and go do that. I’ll wait.
What you’re seeing in that Skillshare interview is not just an animation project inside Procreate Dreams. It’s a full-circle moment for me. My inner child is healing with yarn and drawing, wrapped in enamel. Yes. It is about my teeth.
Backstory of my "ugly teeth"
Growing up, I had what I lovingly refer to as “teeth freckles.” White spots. Yellow spots. The interior color of my teeth peeking through like they were trying to start their own conversations. And as you can imagine, as a kid, that kind of difference feels loud. I became hyper aware of it. I smiled differently. I laughed differently. I analyzed photos for proof of my perceived flaw.
And then something strange happened as I got older. I got… tired? bored? indifferent? …in a deeply freeing way. I got tired of caring! At some point, I stopped trying to hide my teeth and started realizing they were just.. mine. Sure, they’re distinct. And they were a story I had spent years trying to edit out.
So naturally, I turned them into a character. Because that is what artists do. We metabolize our insecurities into art.
A left-field idea
This whole thing actually started with a some yarn. You know those moments where you feel creative and your brain just goes, “What if we did something completely wild today? What if… we just decided to go out to lunch?” That was me. I decided I wanted to tuft a wall hanging, and it was going to be a tooth. And the tooth was going to have teeth.
I clearly did not workshop this. I did not run it through a strategic content funnel. I did not ask, “Will this perform well?” To be honest, I didn't even plan on sharing it. Not because I was hiding it, but because it was just purely mine. A passion project that I felt really connected to.
That’s something I want to pause on for a second, because this is where inner richness lives.
When you get lost in a project, it elevates it because it becomes personal. Your experience of making it gets woven into the work itself. Those are always my favorite projects. The ones where you don’t know where the energy is about to take you.
When Skillshare visited me in my home studio during the summer, they asked me about the tufted tooth I had hanging on my wall. After they published my studio tour, I got a flood of emails about how much that one small snippet of my story resonated because they related in some way or another.
It was a form of validation that got me excited to continue leaning into this insecurity in the form of art even more.
Bringing my ugly teeth to life in Procreate Dreams
When Procreate Dreams had its recent update, I jumped in, and surprise, surprise… who shows up? The Ugly Tooth. I started animating. I was bringing it to life.
If you're new to animation, here’s what I love about Procreate Dreams: It removes the intimidation factor. You can sketch. You can move layers. You can experiment with timing. You can make something a little weird and just see what happens. Best of all, you do not need to be a “real animator.” You need curiosity and the willingness to press play.
The Ugly Tooth became this sweet, hopeful character. She gets ready and puts on her little bow. She walks toward the popular teeth with so much optimism.
And then… well. You saw what happens.
But she gets a deeper layer. Animation gave me a way to dramatize something that felt small but carried weight. It allowed humor. It allowed exaggeration. It allowed tenderness.
If you’ve been curious about how to use Procreate Dreams for storytelling, start here:
- Pick a personal experience, even something tiny.
- Turn it into a character.
- Exaggerate the emotion just a little.
- Watch my fun animation Skillshare class (also available on my site).
Animation does not have to be cinematic! It can be intimate.
Embracing imperfections in art and in yourself
There is a reason I chose not to “fix” the tooth.
Sure, I could have made her symmetrical. Perfectly shaded. Conventionally adorable. But that would have missed the point. The whole heart of this project is embracing imperfections in art and in life. When you treat your perceived flaws as your beautifully layered story instead of problems to solve, everything changes.
That applies to your art practice too.
- The shaky line becomes texture.
- The odd color choice becomes personality.
- The “mistake” becomes the thing that makes the piece breathe.
So if you’ve been waiting to feel confident before you start animating / before you share / before you experiment with something new, you don’t need confidence. You need permission. And I’m giving it to you so you can give it to yourself!
Getting lost is the point
The best part of this entire project was not the final animation. It was the obsession. The staying up too late because I wanted to tweak one more frame. The laughing at myself while playing back the derpy expression. The deep satisfaction of watching something that once made me self conscious now take up space unapologetically.
When you get lost in a project, you stop performing and you start playing.
That’s when your work shifts from technically good to emotionally resonant.
So here’s what I want you to do this week:
Make something that feels slightly embarrassing.
Make something that feels too personal.
Make something that makes you think, “Is this a little weird?”
It probably is.
And that’s probably why it matters.
If you watch this animation and feel that little nudge to open your iPad and play, follow it. Because somewhere inside you is a story that deserves to be a main character.
Even if she has teeth freckles.
Hey, I’m Peggy, a multidisciplinary artist and Procreate enthusiast who loves sharing tips and tricks to help fellow creatives level up their art. When I’m not creating classes and art resources, you can find me constantly learning new techniques, experimenting with color palettes (ok I’m always doing that), or petting all the dogs.
Want more tips and tutorials? Check out my other Procreate resources!
